Cambridge Animation ANIMO Advanced Tutorial

AnimoAdvanced Tutorial

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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT © 1993–2003CAMBRIDGE ANIMATION SYSTEMS LTD.

All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including (but not limited to) photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without the express permission in writing of Cambridge Animation Systems Ltd.

DisclaimerWhile every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual, Cambridge Animation Systems Ltd. cannot accept and hereby expressly excludes all or any liability and gives no warranty, covenant or undertaking (whether express or implied) in respect of the fitness for purpose of, or any error, omission or discrepancy in, this manual and any reliance on the contents hereof is entirely at the user’s own risk.

PatentsU.S. Patents 5598182, 5611036, 5692117, 5754183.

Contacting Cambridge Animation SystemsCambridge Animation Systems LtdWellington HouseEast RoadCambridgeCB1 1BHUK

E-mail support: [email protected]

Telephone: +44 (0) 1223 451048

Fax: +44 (0) 1223 451145

Edition 3, Issue 1, June 2003

Registered trademarksAll registered trademarks used in this document are used for reference purposes only.

Animo is a registered trademark of Cambridge Animation Systems Ltd.

Adobe, Acrobat Reader, Illustrator and PostScript are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Kodak is a trademark of Eastman Kodak Company. Macromedia, Shockwave, and Flash are trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks and service marks of Netscape Communications Corporation in the United States and other countries. Space Jam is a trademark of Warner Bros. Toonz is developed in Italy by SBP S.p.a. Itaca S.r.l. and Digital Video S.r.l. and is distributed by Softimage Co. TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

AcknowledgmentsLip Synchronization Technology © 1999 Kevin Erler. All rights reserved. http://www.automaticsync.com

Images and characters

Images and characters in this manual Copyright © 1995–2003 Cambridge Animation Systems Ltd.

Source libraries used

This software is based in part on:● The work of the Independent JPEG Group.● The libtiff library:

Copyright © 1988-1997 Sam LefflerCopyright © 1991-1997 Silicon Graphics, Inc.Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

● The GIF library of David Koblas:Copyright © 1990, David Koblas.Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided “as is” without express or implied warranty.

● The zlib library

Copyright © 1995–2002 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler

● The libpng library

Copyright © 2000–2002 Glenn Randers-Pehrson

● The work of the FreeType Team, http://www.freetype.org

● The JasPer library:

Copyright (c) 1999-2000, Image Power, Inc. and the University of British Columbia, Canada.Copyright (c) 2001-2002 Michael David Adams.All rights reserved.Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person (the "User") obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation, to deal in the JasPer Software without restriction, including without limitation the right to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the JasPer Software (in source and binary forms), and to permit persons to whom the JasPer Software is furnished to do so, provided further that the License Conditions below are met.Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, and this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer.Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, and this list of conditions, and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. Neither the name of Image Power, Inc. nor any other contributor (including, but not limited to, the University of British Columbia and Michael David Adams) may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.User agrees that it shall not commence any action against Image Power, Inc., the University of British Columbia, Michael David Adams, or any other contributors (collectively "Licensors") for infringement of any intellectual property rights ("IPR") held by the User in respect of any technology that User owns or has a right to license or sublicense and which is an element required in order to claim compliance with ISO/IEC 15444-1 (i.e., JPEG-2000 Part 1). "IPR" means all intellectual property rights worldwide arising under statutory or common law, and whether or not perfected, including, without limitation, all (i) patents and patent applications owned or licensable by User; (ii) rights associated with works of authorship including copyrights, copyright applications, copyright registrations, mask work rights, mask work applications, mask work registrations; (iii) rights relating to the protection of trade secrets and confidential information; (iv) any right analogous to those set forth in subsections (i), (ii), or (iii) and any other proprietary rights relating to intangible property (other than trademark, trade dress, or service mark rights); and (v) divisions, continuations, renewals, reissues and extensions of the foregoing (as and to the extent applicable) now existing, hereafter filed, issued or acquired.If User commences an infringement action against any Licensor(s) then such Licensor(s) shall have the right to terminate User's license and all sublicenses that have been granted hereunder by User to other parties.This software is for use only in hardware or software products that are compliant with ISO/IEC 15444-1 (i.e., JPEG-2000 Part 1). No license or right to this Software is granted for products that do not comply with ISO/IEC 15444-1. The JPEG-2000 Part 1 standard can be purchased from the ISO.THIS DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS LICENSE. NO USE OF THE JASPER SOFTWARE IS AUTHORIZED HEREUNDER EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER. THE JASPER SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE LICENSORS AND CONTRIBUTORS UNDER THIS LICENSE ON AN “AS-IS'” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES THAT THE JASPER SOFTWARE IS FREE OF DEFECTS, IS MERCHANTABLE, IS FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR IS NON-INFRINGING. THOSE INTENDING TO USE THE JASPER SOFTWARE OR MODIFICATIONS THEREOF FOR USE IN HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE PRODUCTS ARE ADVISED THAT THEIR USE MAY INFRINGE EXISTING PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS, OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE JASPER SOFTWARE IS WITH THE USER. SHOULD ANY PART OF THE JASPER SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT, THE USER (AND NOT THE INITIAL DEVELOPERS, THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, IMAGE POWER, INC., MICHAEL DAVID ADAMS, OR ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR) SHALL ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE INITIAL DEVELOPER, THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, IMAGE POWER, INC., MICHAEL DAVID ADAMS, ANY OTHER CONTRIBUTOR, OR ANY DISTRIBUTOR OF THE JASPER SOFTWARE, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO THE USER OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY HAD BEEN INFORMED, OR OUGHT TO HAVE KNOWN, OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE JASPER SOFTWARE AND UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY ARE NOT FAULT-TOLERANT AND ARE NOT DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED OR INTENDED FOR USE OR RESALE AS ON-LINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE JASPER SOFTWARE OR UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY OR PRODUCT COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE ("HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES"). LICENSOR SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES. USER WILL NOT KNOWINGLY USE, DISTRIBUTE OR RESELL THE JASPER SOFTWARE OR UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY OR PRODUCTS FOR HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES AND WILL ENSURE THAT ITS CUSTOMERS AND END-USERS OF ITS PRODUCTS ARE PROVIDED WITH A COPY OF THE NOTICE SPECIFIED IN THIS SECTION.C

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Contents

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How to use this tutorial ixSoftware issues xGetting ready to use Animo xiGetting ready to use this tutorial xiConventions used in this tutorial xivUsing the on-line help xvWhat�s next? xvi

Ratioing 1About this lesson 2

What you should already have done 2What you�ll learn 2Materials you�ll use 2

The lesson 3Setting up the basic scene 3Setting up the movement 3Adding a second character 4Linking the movement of one character to another 6

Finding out more 8More on ratioing in the Animo documentation set 8The demonstration material 8

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Creating a texture with a bitmap 9About this lesson 10


The lesson 11Setting up the palettes 11Compositing the scene 14

Finding out more 18More on adding patterns and textures in the Animo documentation set 18The demonstration material 18

Using strokes and beads 19About this lesson 20


The lesson 21Creating a background 21Drawing the shape 21Adding a colored stroke to the shape 22Adding effects to the stroke 27

Finding out more 28More on strokes and beads in the Animo documentation set 28The demonstration material 28

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Effects with strokes and beads 29About this lesson 30

What you should already have done 30What you�ll learn 30

The lesson 31Creating a background with a Color Card node 31Creating animated writing 32Creating smoke using a Vector node 37Creating smoke using a Turbulence node 43Creating clouds 46Creating lightning 48Creating fire 55

Finding out more 60More on strokes and beads in the Animo documentation set 60The demonstration material 60

Interacting colors 61About this lesson 62


The lesson 63Creating a background 63Creating effects with interacting colors 63

Finding out more 69More on effects with colors in the Animo documentation set 69The demonstration material 69

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Vectorization 71About this lesson 72


The lesson 73Vectorizing the level and creating the SWF 73Changing a vectorized level 76

Finding out more 79More on vectorization in the Animo documentation set 79

Using macros 81About this lesson 82


The lesson 83Locating your macros 83Creating the macro 83Using the macro 84

Finding out more 86More on macros in the Animo documentation set 86

Simple regging 87About this lesson 88


The lesson 90Deciding on the cel-to-background interaction 90Using InkPaint to trace lines from a background 90Setting up regging in Director 92Processing the reg drawings 95Inking and painting the reg drawings 96Viewing the regging scene in Director 99

Finding out more 100More on regging in the Animo documentation set 100The demonstration material 100C

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More regging 101About this lesson 102


The lesson 104Deciding on the cel-to-cel interaction 104Setting up regging in Director 105Processing the reg drawings 108Inking and painting the reg drawings 110Viewing the regging scene in Director 116

Finding out more 117More on regging in the Animo documentation set 117The demonstration material 117

Using color trace lines 119About this lesson 120


The lesson 121Viewing color lines 121Painting a level containing color trace lines 122Auto-inking a level 123Changing the colors assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons 125

Finding out more 129More on color trace lines in the Animo documentation set 129The demonstration material 129

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Using a multiplane camera 131About this lesson 132


The lesson 133Reviewing the scene 133Adding a Multiplane Camera node 133

Finding out more 143The Animo documentation set 143The demonstration material 143

XSheet based productions 145About the lesson 146


The lesson 147Adding an unscanned level to a scene 147Creating the rest of the scene 148Saving the scene 148Scanning the unscanned levels 149

Finding out more 150The Animo documentation set 150

Changing Animo defaults 151About the lesson 152


The lesson 153Using Configure to change a default setting 153Checking the change to the default settings 155

Finding out more 156More on changing the defaults in the Animo documentation set 156

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How to use this
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This tutorial contains a series of lessons, giving step-by-step instructions on how to use Animo.This chapter contains important information about how to prepare for the lessons:● Software issues● Getting ready to use Animo● Getting ready to use this tutorial● Conventions used in this tutorial● Using the on-line help● What�s next?

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Animo Advanced Tutorial ix

Software issues s

Software issues

The license you have for Animo will affect which lessons in this book apply to you.

Animo is a modular product. Each part of the software has its own license. There are some parts of this tutorial which require a particular license to be available, either for you to use a part of Animo, or to load example files that use licensed features.

You�ll need an SFX license to do any lessons that involve:● Lighting, for example Creating lightning on page 48● Rippling, for example Creating smoke using a Vector node on page 37● Multiplane, for example Using a multiplane camera on page 131

Platform differences

Most of this book refers to the Windows version of Animo. Although the instructions in this book are equally applicable to the Mac OS version of Animo, there will be some minor differences (for example, when starting programs).

Note also that the screen captures in this book may be different from the appearance of Animo on your screen, depending upon your platform and individual computer settings.

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x Animo Advanced Tutorial

How to use this tutorials

Getting ready to use Animo

Before you start using Animo, make sure that:● Your system is correctly set up.

If you want to know how to set up your computer, or install the operating system on it, read the documentation that came with your computer, and with its peripherals. Your supplier will often do all the installation work for you, so you may not need to worry about this.

● You understand the basics of using your computer and its operating system.If you want to learn how to use your computer, consult the documentation that came with it. If you haven�t used a similar system before, you may also want to talk with your system administrator, to find out how things are set up at your site.

● You understand how to locate data with Animo.Animo saves its data in folders, rather than in files. In the dialog boxes you use to locate data (for example, when opening or saving it), Animo�s data appears as folder icons, rather than the file icons used by most other applications.

Getting ready to use this tutorial

Before you start using this tutorial, make sure you complete the following steps:1 Installing Animo.2 Installing the tutorial material3 Creating a working directory.4 Preparing to use your scanner.5 Completing the lessons in the Animo Basic Tutorial first (if you are new to

using Animo).

Installing Animo

Before you can start the tutorial, you must first install Animo on your computer. For details, see the Animo Installation Guide.

You must then ensure that you install the tutorial files; these are supplied on the Animo CD.

For information on installing the tutorial files, see Installing the tutorial material on page xii.C

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Animo Advanced Tutorial xi

Getting ready to use this tutorial s

Installing the tutorial material

The Animo CD contains demonstration and tutorial material for use withAnimo.

To use the tutorial material, first copy it from the CD�s Tutorial folder to your hard disk.

The procedure for copying the files depends on whether you are using Windows or Mac.● If you are using Windows, see Copying files onto a Windows computer below.● If you are using Mac, see Copying files onto a Mac computer on page xiii.

Copying files onto a Windows computer

To copy the tutorial files from the Animo CD, you use the xcopy command.The following examples assume you are copying to drive C; if not, changethe drive letters accordingly.

To copy the tutorial material to your hard disk:1 Ensure you are logged on as the Administrator.2 Choose Start > Run.

The Run window appears.3 Type cmd4 In the window that appears, change directory to the root of your CD

drive. For example, if it is drive D, you would type:D:

5 To copy all the tutorial scenes and associated files:◆ To the top level directory on your C: drive, type:

xcopy Tutorial C:\Tutorial /e/i/v

◆ To a subdirectory called MyDirectory on your C: drive, type:xcopy Tutorial C:\MyDirectory\Tutorial /e/i/v

Note: If you instead use Windows Explorer to copy the files, the files will be installed read-only, because the CD-ROM is a read-only device. If you do this, you won�t be able to modify the tutorial material.

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xii Animo Advanced Tutorial


Copying files onto a Mac computer

To copy the tutorial files from the Animo CD:1 Browse to the CD drive and then drag the Tutorial folder to the

required location on your hard drive.2 To display the Info panel for the Tutorial folder you just created, select

it and then press Command+I.3 Scroll to the Privileges section and change the file settings as required,

applying them to all the subfolders.

Creating a working directory

As you go through this tutorial, you�ll need to save the work you�ve done. You must do this in a folder that nobody else will use.

Important: Do not save your own work inside the \Program Files\CAS\Animo folder.

If you already have a location for your own personal use, create a folder there, and name it AnimoTutorial. Otherwise, ask your system administrator where they�d like you to save your work.

In the rest of this tutorial, we�ll call this folder your working directory.

Tip: Within your working directory, create subfolders called Backgrounds, ColorModels, and so on, to enable you to identify your files easily later. Your folder structure should then look something like this:

Important: If you will be using a network to work with Animo (that is, if you will be using the batch system), ensure your working directory is shared. If you�re uncertain how to do this, see the Animo Installation Guide.

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Animo Advanced Tutorial xiii

Conventions used in this tutorial s

Preparing to use your scanner

Before you can do the lessons on scanning, if you are using a pegbar, you must calibrate your scanner.

For more details, see the manual Animo Scanning and Processing, Calibrating scanners.

Completing the lessons in the Animo Basic Tutorial

If you are completely new to using Animo, before you attempt the lessons in this book, make sure you understand the lessons in the Animo Basic Tutorial. This Advanced book assumes you already understand the basics of setting up and using scenes, so this and other fundamental techniques are not explained in as much detail in each lesson as they are in the Animo Basic Tutorial.

Conventions used in this tutorial

This guide uses the following text conventions.

We use italic text to show:● Words that appear on the screen, such as menu options, button labels, etc.● Items that appear on the screen but that don�t have a text label � such as icons● New terminology● References to other parts of the documentation

We use bold text to emphasize important points.

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xiv Animo Advanced Tutorial


Using the on-line help

As well as the printed guide you�re reading right now, Animo also includes on-line help, which is based on the books in the Animo documentation set.

The on-line help is in HTML (HyperText Markup Language, as used for the World Wide Web), and requires a web browser to read it.

To display the help system in any Animo application:➤ Choose Help > Animo Help to display the Contents tab of the main Animo

help. Click the book icons next to the headings to see the corresponding pages. You can also access the Index and full text search facilities by clicking Index and Search.

If the help system does not work, check that:● The Animo HTML help has been installed from the CD-ROM.● A web browser is installed on your computer.● If your browser is Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, you are using

version 4 or later (version 4.5 or later is recommended). Note: If your browser is not Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, it must be capable of using HTML 4.0, JavaScript 1.2, and cascading stylesheets 1 (CSS1).

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Animo Advanced Tutorial xv

What’s next? s

What’s next?

If you have completed all the preparations in this section, you can now go on to the advanced lessons:● Ratioing on page 1● Creating a texture with a bitmap on page 9● Using strokes and beads on page 19● Effects with strokes and beads on page 29● Interacting colors on page 61● Vectorization on page 71● Using macros on page 81● Simple regging on page 87● More regging on page 101● Using color trace lines on page 119● Using a multiplane camera on page 131● XSheet based productions on page 145● Changing Animo defaults on page 151

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xvi Animo Advanced Tutorial

Animo Advanced Tutorial

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Ratioing
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This lesson teaches you how to use Animo to link the movement of a character, prop, or camera, to the movement of another object.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson

What you should already have done

You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand using multiple instances, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter More compositing on page 163.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to link the movement of one surfer in a car to another surfer in a second car. You�ll complete the following steps:1 Setting up the basic scene.2 Setting up the movement.3 Adding a second character.4 Linking the movement of one character to another.

Materials you’ll use

The materials you�ll use are:

SurferCar.lvl

This is a level holding drawings of a surfer character in a racing car, which have been scanned, image processed, and painted.

SurferCar.crm

This is a color model for the above level.

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2 Animo Advanced Tutorial

Ratioings

The lessonThe lesson comprises the following steps:1 Setting up the basic scene.2 Setting up the movement.3 Adding a second character.4 Linking the movement of one character to another.

Setting up the basic scene

First, set up the basic scene, comprising the car level. To do this:1 In Director, choose File > New to create a new blank scene.2 In the Node Panel, from the Ink&Paint tab, drag an Ink&Paint node to

the Scene Graph.3 In the dialog box, locate and select the SurferCar.lvl and click Open.4 If you are prompted, locate the SurferCar.crm in the ColorModels

folder and click Open.5 Connect the Ink&Paint node to the camera.

Setting up the movement

After you have set up the basic scene, you can set up a move for the surfer car. To do this:1 Drag an E/W Move node from the Position tab to the Scene Graph and

connect it between the Ink&Paint node and the camera.2 Make sure Frame 1 is selected and in the Scene Graph, select the E/W

Move node.

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Animo Advanced Tutorial 3

Adding a second character s

3 In the Drawing Window, drag the car to its start position, to the West of the camera view:

4 Select Frame 49 and then in the Drawing Window, drag the car to its end position, to the East of the camera view:

Adding a second character

After you have got the first car moving as required, you can add a second instance of the car. Because one surfer car needs to be ratioed to another, for this scene, we need to create two instances of the same character.

Note: You do not have to use instances when ratioing. You could use two completely different Ink&Paint levels, or ratio the movement of the camera to that of a character or prop, and so on: the important thing is to be able to easily identify to the movement that you want to use for ratioing.

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Ratioings

To create two instances of the car character:1 Select Frame 1, then from the Position tab in the Node Panel, drag a

Transform node to the Scene Graph and connect it between the Ink&Paint node and the Camera node:

This creates a second instance of the car, but it is too large and in the wrong position, so the Transform node is used to correct this, as described in the next steps.

2 With the Transform node selected in the Scene Graph, drag the second car to approximately the required position (behind the first car).

3 Keeping the Transform node selected, right-click in the Drawing Window to display the toolkit.

4 Select the Scale tool and drag to reduce the size of the second car:

Tip: If you need to move the second car again, make sure you select the Select tool first.

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Linking the movement of one character to another s

Linking the movement of one character to another

You now have the two cars in place: you need to link the E/W movement of the second car to the E/W movement you created for the first car. To do this:1 Make sure the second car�s Transform node is selected.2 On the XSheet, double-click on Frame 1 of the Transform node�s E/W column

to display the Properties window.3 On the Key tab in the Properties window, select the Ratioed box:

4 Click the Ratio Panel button.5 In the Ratio Panel, change the Ratio value to 2.0 and in the Source

Column list, select E/W Move and then click OK:

A letter R appears in the XSheet in the keyframe of the ratioed column (the E/W column of the second car�s Transform node).

Select

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Ratioings

6 Before you create a replay, you may want to add a simple colored background by dragging a 2-way Gradient or a Color Card node from the Image tab of the Node Panel to your scene. For more information on using gradient nodes, see the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Creating a matte, step 13.

7 To review your work, create a replay by choosing Tools > Replay. For more information on creating replays, see the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, Previewing your scene on page 159.As it is travelling twice the speed of the first car, the second car overtakes the first car.Tip: To make the faster car look as though it is blurred by its speed, drag a Dir Blur node from the Filters tab, to just above the Ink&Paint node, and on the XSheet increase the blur�s radius from 0 at Frame 1 to 100 at Frame 50, and at Frame 1, set its direction as -90 degrees. To see a non-blurred instance of the car in front of the blur, composite another instance of the car by connecting the Ink&Paint node directly to the Transform node:

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on ratioing in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information in the manual Animo Compositing, in Using ratios on page 169.

For more information about the Replayer application, see the manual Animo Rendering, Output and Vectorization, Previewing your work on page 1.

The demonstration material

There are also some relevant files in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folders:● BeachPan (contains scene with ratioed camera)● DragRace (contains scene with a level ratioed to a second instance of

the level)

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Creating a
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You can use a bitmap in an Animo scene to create a textured or patterned area in part of a level. This lesson explains how to do this.
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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand how to use the Color Chooser, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Adding colors to the Painters� palette on page 59; and how to ink and paint levels, as described in the same manual, in the chapter Inking and painting drawings on page 85.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll learn how to apply a texture or pattern that has been saved as a tiff file (in this case, a tie-dye pattern called tiedye.tif) to a particular area of a level (in this case, the surfer girl�s clothes) by creating a matte.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Setting up the palettes.2 Compositing the scene.


For this lesson, you will use the following materials:● From the Levels folder:

SurfGirl.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of a female surfer character, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.

● From the ColorModels folder:Surfgirl.crmThis is a color model for the above level.

● From the Backgrounds folder:TieDye.tifThis is a tiff containing a tie-dye pattern.BeachParty.tiledThis is a background of a beach.

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Creating a texture with a bitmaps

The lessonYou can use a Matte node to create a region matte to add textures or patterns from bitmaps to part of a character level. To do this, you need to complete the following steps:1 Set up the palettes for the matte in InkPaint.2 In Director, composite the scene, adding the nodes that contain the

level, palettes, and texture (plus any other nodes you need to create the scene).

Setting up the palettes

You can use InkPaint to create a region matte to add a bitmap of a texture or pattern to part of a character level in Director. To set up a matte that will allow you to apply a tie-dye pattern to the character�s shirt and skirt, you will complete the following steps:1 Use InkPaint to check the Painters� palette in the color model will

work as a matte.2 Duplicate the Painters� palette to create a separate palette for applying

a matte.3 Save the color model containing the palettes, and paint the level.

Checking the Painters’ palette

Before you create the palette that will make the matte, you need to check that the areas that are to be matted are painted with their own unique color. To do this:1 Start InkPaint and then choose File > Open, and from the ColorModels

subfolder in the Tutorial folder, select the color model SurfGirl.crm.2 In the list of palettes in the browser window, make sure the Painters�

palette is selected.

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Setting up the palettes s

3 As you want to add a texture to the character�s shirt and skirt, you will need to create a matte of the skirt and shirt regions, so you need to ensure these regions are painted with a unique color. To check this, click the Shirt palette well to select it and then click the Track mode button .The part of the color model that is painted with the Shirt paint is displayed in black.Important: Make sure no other parts of the color model are painted with the Shirt paint as this color will define the matte area.

Setting up the matte palette

After you have checked that the Painters� palette has been correctly applied to the color model drawing, you need to create another palette to hold the matte colors. To do this:1 In the browser window, click the Palettes button and then click

Duplicate Palette.2 In the Palette Name dialog box, type DressMatte as the name for your

new palette and click OK.The new palette is displayed, showing the same color wells as the original Painters� palette.

3 In the Palette Window, select the Shirt color and click the border of the color well to open the Color Chooser.

4 In the Color Chooser, change the Shirt color to black and opaque:

Color setto black

Opacity setto 100%

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5 Make sure all other the color wells are transparent, including the Default Ink. To do this, for each well, make sure that in the Color Chooser, the opacity control is set to 0%:

Tip: To quickly make all the color wells transparent:a In the Palette window, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or !+A (Mac).

This selects all the color wells. b Holding down the Shift key, click the Shirt color well to deselect it.c In the browser window, click Palettes and then click Color Correct

Palette.d In the Color Corrector Window, in Graph mode, drag the Opacity controls to

create a straight line along the x axis:

Opacity setto 0%

Straightline

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Compositing the scene s

The Palette Window for the DressMatte palette now shows that all the color wells (except the Shirt well) are transparent:

The Painting Window, Reference window and browser window show the regions that are to be matted in black:

Saving the color model

After you have set up the matte palette:1 Choose File > Save to save the color model.2 Quit InkPaint.

Compositing the scene

After you have saved the color model, you can create the scene. To do this:1 Start Director and choose File > New to create a new scene.2 From the Ink&Paint tab in the Node Panel, drag an Ink&Paint node to

the Scene Graph and when prompted, locate the SurfGirl.lvl and click Open.

3 If you are prompted, locate SurfGirl.crm in the Tutorial folder and click Open.

4 Connect the Ink&Paint node to the camera.

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5 From the Image tab, drag a BG/OL node to the left of the Scene Graph and when prompted, locate TieDye.tif in the Backgrounds folder, and click Open. You don�t need to connect this node yet.

6 From the Ink&Paint tab, drag a Palette node to the Scene Graph and connect it above the Ink&Paint node.

7 On the XSheet, at Frame 1 of the Palette column, double-click to create a keyframe and on the Key tab in the Properties window, select the DressMatte palette.In the Drawing Window, only the areas of the character that are painted by the DressMatte palette (the shirt and skirt) are now displayed:

8 From the Filters tab of the Node Panel, drag a Matte node to the Scene Graph and connect it above the Palette node, with the Palette node connected to the right input channel and the BG/OL node containing the tie-dye pattern connected to the left input channel:

The Matte node applies a matte created by the black input on the right, (the matted shirt and skirt area created by the DressMatte palette), to the left input (the TieDye.tif file) and outputs the result (the shirt and skirt area defined by the matte containing the patterned bitmap TieDye.tif).

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Compositing the scene s

9 To output the rest of the surfgirl level, in the Scene Graph drag a second connection from the Ink&Paint node directly to the Camera node, so that it is composited beneath the tie-dye pattern:

Note: In the above Scene Graph, a Joint node was dragged onto the connection between the Ink&Paint node and the Camera. This enables you to add an angle to your connections so that they are not obscured by the nodes. The Joint node has no effect on the compositing of the scene.The Drawing Window displays the character with the tie-dye pattern applied to the matted area:

Joint node

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Finishing the effect and reviewing the results

To complete the scene, you need to add a a background, retime the level and add any other nodes necessary to obtain the required effect. To do this:1 From the Image tab, drag a BG/OL node to the right of the Scene

Graph and when prompted, locate BeachParty.tiled and click Open. 2 Connect the BG/OL node to the camera:

Note: In the above illustration, the Joint node was added to enable you to see the connection between the SurfGirl node and the Camera. Adding a Joint node lets you add an angle to a connecting line in the Scene Graph, to make your graph clearer. It does not change any other nodes.

3 On the XSheet, Alt+click the first drawing in the Ink&Paint node�s surfgirl column to select all the drawings.

4 To retime the drawings on 2�s, press Ctrl+2.5 To review the scene, choose Tools > Replay.

Tips:

To obtain different effects, you could add nodes above the BG/OL node that holds the tie-dye bitmap:● To add movement to the tie-dye pattern, you could add a Transform node or a

ripple node.● To adjust the color of the tie-dye pattern, you could add a Tint node.

Joint node

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on adding patterns and textures in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on setting up a matte palette in the manual Animo Inking & Painting, in Setting up a matte to add texture bitmaps to a level on page 90. You�ll find more information on compositing a scene containing a texture bitmap in the manual Animo Compositing, in Using a matte to add texture bitmaps to a level on page 261.


There are also some relevant files in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folder:● Textures (contains DressTexture.scene, a complete scene showing the texture

matte described in this lesson).

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Using strokes
and beads st
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This lesson teaches you how to use Animo to add paint to a vector curve that you will draw to create a rainbow effect. This lesson is a simple example that does not include any animation. Other more complex uses of strokes and beads are described in Effects with strokes and beads on page 29.
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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand how to use the simple drawing tools, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Using paths in Director on page 199.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to draw a curve and add color to it. You�ll complete the following steps:1 Creating a background.2 Drawing the shape.3 Adding a colored stroke to the shape.4 Adding effects to the stroke.


For this lesson, you will create all the materials you�ll use.

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Using strokes and beadss

The lessonThe lesson comprises the following steps:1 Creating a background.2 Drawing the shape.3 Adding a colored stroke to the shape.4 Adding effects to the stroke.

Creating a background

First, add the background, representing the sky. To do this:1 In Director, choose File > New to create a new blank scene.2 In the Node Panel, from the Image tab, drag a 2-way Gradient node to

the Scene Graph and connect it to the camera.3 With the gradient node selected, at Frame 1 on the XSheet, double-

click in the N column to create a keyframe. Leave the color at its default of white.

4 In the same way, add a keyframe at Frame 1 of the S column, but this time, on the Key tab of the Properties window, click the border of the color well to open the Color Chooser, and choose a deep blue color.

Drawing the shape

You can now draw the curve to which the rainbow colors will be attached. To do this:1 Drag a Vector node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph and

connect it to the camera:

2 Make sure Frame 1 is selected and in the Scene Graph, select the Vector node.

3 In the Drawing Window, right-click to open the toolkit and then click Open Toolkit .

4 Select the Ballpen tool .Cam

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Adding a colored stroke to the shape s

5 Draw a curve from one side of the camera view to the other:

Tip: You will probably need only three knots: the beginning, middle, and end of the curve. If necessary, you can adjust the shape of the curve afterwards, by moving the handles.

Adding a colored stroke to the shape

After you have drawn the vector curve, you can add beads to it. Beads let you add color to the shape you have drawn. To do this:1 Make sure the vector curve is still selected and then in the Drawing

Window, right-click to display the toolkit again, and select the Add Stroke Bead tool .

2 With the vector curve still selected, click once at the beginning of the curve you have just drawn:

3 Click once at the other end of the curve to add a second stroke bead.4 In the Drawing Window, right-click to display the toolkit and select

the Select tool again.5 Hold down the B key and click on the first bead you added.

Click to add astroke bead

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6 To display the Properties window for the selected bead, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac).

7 On the Stroke Bead tab, select the Angle, Extents, Color, and Opacity check boxes:

8 In the Angle box, type 24.This determines the angle of the stroke that is added.

9 In the Extents boxes, type 60 and -45.This determines the width of the stroke (on either side of the vector curve).

Select

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10 Press Ctrl+L to open the Color Chooser, and drag a rainbow color (for example, violet) into the well in the Color area:

Tip: To enable you to position the colors correctly across the stroke, the red and green lines at either side of the Stroke Bead tab indicate the red and green extents of the stroke in the Drawing Window.

11 Each time you want to add a new color, move the first color well to the right by dragging the square beneath the Color slider:

Drag

Dragto right

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12 To create a new color well, drag from the box control on the left along the Color slider:

A new color well is created each time you drag from the box control along the slider:

13 Continue adding colors from the Color Chooser until you have all the colors for the rainbow:

Tip: You may want to adjust the spacing of the colors to give the required effect.

14 In the Opacity area, drag the square beneath the Opacity slider to the right, and then drag twice more from the box control on the left:

This creates a total of 3 control points:

Boxcontrol Drag

Dragto right

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15 To create colors that are opaque in the middle but transparent at the edges, drag the control points so they are spaced as follows:

16 To give the rainbow rounded ends, on the Stroke tab, select the icons for rounded ends:

You have now created the basic rainbow.

Select

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Adding effects to the stroke

You could now add different effects to make the rainbow brighter, more blurred, more or less realistic, and so on. For example, you can illuminate the rainbow by adding a Lighting nodes. To do this:1 From the Filters tab in the Node Panel, drag a Lighting node and a Lighting

Composite node, and connect them above the Vector node:

2 With the Lighting node selected, on the XSheet at Frame 1, double-click to add keyframes and change the Exposure value to 100, and the Blur value to 10:

3 With the Lighting node still selected, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window and on the Node tab, select the Backlight option.

4 Your rainbow should now look similar to this:

Note: If you cannot see the rainbow clearly, try darkening the background.Cam

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on strokes and beads in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information in the manual Animo Compositing, in Working with strokes and beads on page 205. You will also find more complex examples in the next chapter, Effects with strokes and beads on page 29.


If you�ve chosen to install the demonstration material supplied with Animo, you can display a relevant example. See the folder:● Effects (contains a Rainbow.scene)

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Effects with
strokes and beads st
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This lesson teaches you how to use Director to achieve various effects, using strokes and beads and the Turbulence node. This lesson assumes you have completed the previous lesson Using strokes and beads on page 19.
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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand the basic use of strokes and beads, as described in the previous lesson, Using strokes and beads on page 19.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to achieve various special effects:● Creating animated writing● Creating smoke● Creating clouds● Creating lightning● Creating fire

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Effects with strokes and beadss

The lessonThe lesson comprises the following procedures:● Creating a background with a Color Card node● Creating animated writing● Creating smoke using a Vector node● Creating smoke using a Turbulence node● Creating clouds● Creating lightning● Creating fire

Creating a background with a Color Card node

For some of the effects described in this chapter, you will need to add a color card to color the background. To do this:1 In Director, choose File > New to create a new blank scene.2 In the Node Panel, from the Image tab, drag a Color Card node to the

Scene Graph and connect it to the camera.3 With the Color Card node selected, at Frame 1 on the XSheet, double-

click to add a keyframe and on the Key tab of the Properties window, click the border of the color well to open the Color Chooser, and choose a very dark color.

Tips: ● To quickly create a black or white color card, in the Node Panel, from

the Image tab, drag a Black Card node or a White Card node to the Scene Graph.

● You will probably want to disconnect the Color Card node from the camera while you work on the rest of the scene, but remember to connect it before creating your final output.

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Creating animated writing s

Creating animated writing

You can add animation to the technique for creating strokes that you learnt in the previous lesson to create writing that appears to draw itself across the screen. To do this, you need to:1 Draw a vector curve in the shape of the writing.2 Add color to the shape and animate it.3 Finish the effect and review it.

Drawing the writing

To create the writing that will be colored and animated in subsequent steps:1 Drag a Vector node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph and

connect it to the camera:

2 Disconnect the background node, make sure Frame 1 is selected and in the Scene Graph, select the Vector node.


4 Select the Pencil tool .5 Draw a continuous curve in the shape of the writing you want to

animate, for example:

Tip: If necessary, you can adjust the shape of the writing afterwards, by moving the handles on the Bézier curves.

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Adding a colored stroke to the writing

After you have drawn the vector curve for the writing, you can add beads to it and animate it. To do this:1 Make sure the vector curve is still selected and that you are still at

Frame 1.2 In the Drawing Window, right-click to display the toolkit again, and

select the Add Stroke Bead tool .3 Click once at the beginning of the curve you have just drawn:

4 Click again slightly further along the same curve to add a second bead:

5 Select Frame 50 and with the Move Stroke Bead tool , drag the second stroke bead to the end of the curve:

On the XSheet, a second keyframe is created in the Curves and Paint subcolumns of the Vector column.

6 Select Frame 1, and in the Drawing Window, right-click to display the toolkit and select the Select tool again.

7 Hold down the B key and click on the first bead you added.8 To display the Properties window for the selected bead, press

Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac).

Click to add astroke bead

Click to add asecond bead

Drag secondbead to end

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9 On the Stroke Bead tab, select the Extents and Color check boxes:

10 In the Extents boxes, type -10 and 10.11 Press Ctrl+L to open the Color Chooser and drag a bright yellow color

to the well in the Color area.

Select

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12 Drag two more color wells along the color slider, space them out, and color the middle well white. Note that the following illustration shows the yellow areas of the stroke colored gray, so that they are clearly visible in print:

Note: You don�t need to specify the color and extents for the second bead because it automatically inherits these from the first one.

13 On the XSheet, in the Vector column, click on Frame 1 of the Curves and Paint columns and on the Timing tab, in the Inbetween area, select Inbetween.

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Finishing and reviewing the writing scene

To review your work:➤ Choose Tools > Replay.

Make sure you specify frames 1 to 50 for the replay.

Tips ● To intensify the illuminated look of the writing, you could add a Blur

node behind the Vector node:

You could also add lighting nodes, if required.● To complete the effect, Shift+click on Frame 1 in both the Vector

columns and drag them so that they start at Frame 3, instead of Frame 1.

Your final replay at the last frame should look similar to the following:

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Creating smoke using a Vector node

You can use the same techniques as you used for the animated writing to create the effect of smoke drifting upwards from a cigarette. You could use a similar effect for dust, clouds, mist, etc. To achieve this effect, the steps are:1 Draw the basic shape the smoke will take.2 Add beads to give width, color and opacity to the smoke.3 Add a ripple node to further vary the shape of the smoke.4 Add any other filters required to achieve the desired effect and then

review your work.

Tip: For a different smoke effect, you can instead use the Turbulence node. For more information, see Creating smoke using a Turbulence node on page 43.

For this example, you need a colored background, which you can create with a Color Card node, as described in Creating a background with a Color Card node on page 31. Because you will be creating gray smoke in this example, color the background white to begin with: you can change the color later if required.

You will also need the following files from the Tutorial folder:● From the Levels subfolder:

Ashtray.lvlThis is a level containing a drawing of an ashtray.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:Ashtray.crmThis is a color model for the above level.

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Creating smoke using a Vector node s

Drawing the shape of the smoke

To draw the shape to which the smoke will be attached:1 Drag an Ink&Paint node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph.2 Locate the Ashtray.lvl, click Open and connect it to the camera.3 On the XSheet, double-click at frame 1 in the AshTray level�s Palette

column and in the Properties window, click the Key tab and then select the Output palette and close the Properties window.

4 Drag a Vector node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph and connect it to the camera:

5 Make sure Frame 1 is selected and in the Scene Graph, select the Vector node.


7 Select the Pencil tool .8 Draw a curve in the shape of the smoke coming from a cigarette in the

ashtray, for example:

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Adding beads to the shape of the smoke

To give the smoke width, color, and opacity, you need to add beads to the shape. To do this:1 With Add Stroke Bead tool , click at each point along the line you

just drew where you want to vary the width or opacity of the smoke.The example shown in this lesson uses a total of seven beads.

2 From the vector toolkit, select the Select tool, hold down the B key and click on the first bead you added.

3 To display the Properties window for the selected bead, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac).

4 On the Stroke Bead tab, select the Extents, Angle, Color, and Opacity check boxes and give them appropriate values, for example, the angle is set at -23.723, the extents are -2.849 and 0.000, the color varies from light gray at the edges to very dark gray in the middle, and the opacity is slightly greater at the edges than it is in the middle of the stroke:

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5 Vary the values for the extents, angle and opacity for each of the other six beads to give the effect of a smoke column, for example, for the third bead, the angle is set to zero, the extents are -5.442 and 1.000, the color is the same as the previous bead, but the opacity is varied so that the stroke is completely opaque in the middle:

Tip: Instead of entering values in the Extents area and Angle area of the Properties window, you can zoom in and drag the red and green extents of the stroke in the Drawing Window to give the required width.The smoke column should now look similar to this:

Note: Depending on the widths you have chosen to give your stroke, the smoke may be wider, or may vary more in width than that illustrated.C

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Varying the shape of the smoke

After you have created the basic shape, color and opacity of the smoke, you can create further movement by introducing a ripple node. To do this:1 Connect a Grid Ripple node above the Vector node:

2 Making sure you are at frame 1, in the Drawing Window, drag the center of the ripple grid to the start of the smoke column, in the ashtray:

3 On the XSheet, in the column for the Grid Ripple node, type a value for Spacing of 2, for Angle of 40, and for Intensity of 105.

Ripple grid

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4 Scroll the XSheet to frame 50 and in the Drawing Window, drag the center of the ripple grid to the top of the smoke:

5 On the XSheet, in the column for the Grid Ripple node, type a value for Spacing of 1 and for Angle of 55.

Finishing and reviewing the smoke scene

You can now add further nodes above the ripple node, for example a Blur node, with a value of 10.00, to finish the smoke effect.

To review your work, click Tools > Replay.

Ripple grid

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Creating smoke using a Turbulence node

You can use the Turbulence node to add a moving smoke effect to a scene, for example, a smoke-filled room. The following example shows the lounge background, supplied with the Animo tutorial, but you could use the same effect with any suitable scene, including an entirely new one.

For this example, you need following file from the Tutorial folder:● From the Backgrounds subfolder:

TikiLounge.tiledThis is a level containing a background of a club scene.

To achieve this effect, the steps are:1 Creating the smoke effect in Director.2 Finishing and reviewing the smoke scene.

Creating the smoke effect in Director

To use the Turbulence node to generate smoke:1 Drag a Turbulence node from the Image tab in the Node Panel to the Scene

Graph and connect it to the Camera.2 Drag a BG/OL node from the Image tab in the Node Panel to the Scene Graph.3 When prompted, select the TikiLounge.tiled background from the Backgrounds

subfolder in the Tutorial folder and connect it to the Camera.4 If required, use Position nodes to position the Turbulence node in your scene.

Your Scene Graph will look similar to the following:

5 Make sure the Turbulence node is selected, then to display its Properties window, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac).

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Creating smoke using a Turbulence node s

6 On the Node tab, select the following values:

◆ For Type select Fractal◆ For Octaves, select 8 ◆ For Speed, select 1◆ Ensure the Seed value is giving you the required result: if not, click the

Random button until you obtain a satisfactory effect.

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7 At frame 1, adjust the settings for the Turbulence node to suit your scene, for example:

◆ Set Lo Level to 10.00.◆ Set Hi Level to 85.00.◆ Set the Lo Color to be transparent or semi-transparent, depending on how

smoky you want the room to appear.◆ Set the Hi Color to be a bluey-grey color suitable for smoke.◆ Set N/S to 6.00N at frame 1.

Tip: If you wanted your smoke to move, for example, to drift slowly upwards throughout the scene, you could set the N/S value at 0.00N at frame 1, and set another keyframe later in the scene, for example at frame 120, to a higher value, for example, 10.00N.

◆ Leave all other settings at their default values.

Finishing and reviewing the smoke scene

You can vary the effect of the smoke by changing the Turbulence node settings.


With the settings given in this tutorial, you should see an effect similar to the following:

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Creating clouds s

Creating clouds

In addition to smoke effects, the Turbulence node has many other uses in scenes where random effects are required. In the following example, you will produce the effect of white clouds in a blue sky.

To achieve this effect, the steps are:1 Creating the cloud effect in Director2 Finishing and reviewing the clouds scene

For this lesson, you do not need any additional materials.

Creating the cloud effect in Director

To use the Turbulence node to generate clouds:1 Drag a Turbulence node from the Image tab in the Node Panel to the Scene Graph

and connect it to the Camera.2 Drag a White Card node from the Image tab in the Node Panel to the Scene Graph

and connect it to the Camera as a background for your scene.3 Make sure the Turbulence node is selected, then to display its Properties window,

press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac).4 On the Node tab, select the following values:

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◆ For Type select Turbulence◆ For Octaves, select 8 ◆ For Speed, select 1◆ Ensure the Seed value is giving you the required result: if not, click the

Random button until you obtain a satisfactory effect.5 At frame 1 on the XSheet, adjust the settings for the Turbulence node to suit the

type of clouds required. The following settings give white, fluffy clouds in a blue sky:

◆ Set Lo Level to 35.00.◆ Set Hi Level to 85.00.◆ Set Alpha to 1.5.◆ Set E/W to 5.00E at frame 1. To make the clouds drift across your scene,

set another keyframe at frame 120 to 15.00E.◆ Leave all other settings at their default values.

Finishing and reviewing the clouds scene

You can vary the effect of the clouds and the sky by changing the Turbulence node settings.


With the above settings, you should see an effect similar to the following:

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Creating lightning s

Creating lightning

You can use the same techniques as you used for the animated writing to create the effect of lightning in a dark sky.

To do this you need a dark background, which you can create with a Color Card node, as described in Creating a background with a Color Card node on page 31. So that you can see what you are drawing, do not connect the background to the camera until you have finished creating the lightning itself.

Adding to the technique you used for the animated writing, you will:1 Draw a vector shape for the lightning.2 Attach beads to it to define the width and color of the lightning.3 Add lighting nodes to increase the effect of light against a dark sky.4 Create a lightning flash to complete the effect.5 Finish and review the scene.

Drawing the lightning

To draw the shape of the lightning:1 Drag a Vector node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph and

connect it to the camera.2 With the Vector node selected, in the Drawing Window, right-click to

open the toolkit, then if necessary, click Open Toolkit to open the vector toolkit, and select the Pen tool .

3 Draw the shape the lightning will follow, for example:

Tip: To produce the required zig-zag shape, click the Pen tool once at the starting point, position the mouse pointer at the next angle and click again, and so on.C

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Adding color and width to the lightning shape

To add color and width to the shape you�ve drawn, you need to add beads to the vector curve. To do this:1 Select the frame where you want the lightning effect to start (this

example uses frame 7).2 In the Drawing Window, right-click to display the toolkit, select the Add Stroke

Bead tool and click to add beads (the following example uses four beads) to the vector curve:

3 Using the Select tool, hold down the B key, click on the first bead to select it, and press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window.

4 On the Stroke tab, select the options for a square start and end to your stroke, and sharply angled corners, to give the jagged effect necessary for lightning:

Sharp corners

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5 On the Stroke Bead tab, change the bead�s extents and color to give a suitable width and bluish color to the lightning, for example:

6 If you want to vary the shape of the lightning along the stroke you have defined, you can change the extents of one or more of the other beads, for example you could change the extents of the third bead to 10.000 and 0.000. This widens the stroke along its length:

7 On the XSheet, double-click the keyframe for the curve at frame 7 and in the Properties window, on the Timing tab, select InBetween.

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8 Select frame 10. As we want the lightning to travel rapidly along its path, drag the last two beads to the end of the shape, widening the stroke at the third bead to its maximum width. In this example, a width of 50.00 was used at frame 10:

This creates keyframes at frame 10.Tip: Instead of entering values in the Extents area and Angle area of the Properties window, you can simply drag the red and green extents of the stroke in the Drawing Window to give the required width:

This gives the following shape:

Drag to alter width

Drag to alter angle

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9 Select frame 20. Drag the beads nearer to the end of the path at around frame 20, decreasing the width of the third bead until it has similar values as the first bead again:

At frame 20, after you have dragged the beads towards the end of the shape and decreased the width of the stroke, the Drawing Window should look similar to this:

10 To end the lightning, drag the beads to the end of the path, use the Stroke Bead tab to turn off the extents and color for all four beads, and on the Timing tab, set them to Hold until the end of the scene.

You have now finished creating the lightning itself, and can now enhance the effect by adding lighting nodes, connecting the dark background and creating the effect of a flash of light.

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Adding lighting nodes to the lightning

Adding lighting nodes increases the intensity of the effect and gives you control over the luminosity and blur of the lightning. To do this:1 From the Node Panel, drag a Lighting Composite node and a Lighting

node to the Scene Graph and connect them above the Vector node:

2 On the XSheet, double-click to create a keyframe in the Exposure column where the lightning starts, and leave it at its default of 0.00. In the example, this is frame 7.

3 Double-click in the Blur column at the same frame and type a value greater than 0.00 to create a blur. In the example, a blur of 30.00 was used throughout.

4 In the Exposure column, add a second keyframe so that the maximum exposure occurs when the lightning is at its most intense (that is, when the stroke is largest and widest: in the example, this is around frame 10). For the example, a maximum exposure of 150 was used:

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5 In the Exposure column, add a third keyframe at the end of the lightning effect (in this example, this is at frame 30), and type 0.00.

6 With the Lighting node selected, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window and on the Node tab, select Alt-Backlight to give a very bright effect.

Creating a flash of light

To complete the effect, you will connect the background and create the effect of a flash of light at the appropriate moment. To do this:1 Connect a Color Card node, colored black, or a very dark color, into the Scene

Graph:

2 On the XSheet, just after the lightning is most intense (in this example this is at frame 11), double-click to create a keyframe.

3 On the Key tab of the Properties window, click the color well border to open the Color Chooser and change the color of the Color Card node from black to white.

4 On the Timing tab, make sure the timing is set to Hold for three or so frames until frame 14.

5 At frame 15, double-click to create another keyframe and change the color back to black.Tip: To give a slight fading effect, you can instead set the color to mid-gray and then set the timing to inbetween until frame 17 where you could set another keyframe to set the color back to black.

Finishing and reviewing the lightning scene

You have now finished creating the lightning effect.


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Creating fire

You can create a fire effect using a Vector node. To do this, you need to:1 Use a Vector node to draw the flame shapes.2 Add lighting effects.

Drawing the flame shapes

To produce the basic shape of the flames:1 Drag a Vector node from the Image tab to the Scene Graph and connect it to the

camera:

2 Make sure Frame 1 is selected and in the Scene Graph, select the Vector node.3 In the Drawing Window, right-click to open the toolkit and then click Open

Toolkit .4 Select the Pen tool and draw a short line that is approximately the length

you want your flames to be.5 With the Add Stroke Bead tool , click twice to add two stroke beads at either

end of the line:

6 Using the Select tool, B+click on the first bead to select it and then press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window.

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Creating fire s

7 On the Stroke tab, select the rounded end for the Start option and the square end for the End option:

8 On the Stroke Bead tab, select the Angle, Color, and Extents check boxes, and set appropriate values to give the flame shape and color, for example, for the bottom bead:

Tip: Instead of setting the angle and extents in the Properties window, it is often easier to drag the extents in the Drawing Window to give the required shape.

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9 In the Drawing Window, drag the second bead�s extents to taper the flame shape and in the Properties window, change the color and the opacity of the stroke, for example, for the top bead:

10 On the XSheet, for each subsequent frame, create keyframes for the Vector node, and in the Drawing Window, drag the beads� extents to change the shape of the stroke to imitate a flame flickering, for example:

Frame 1 Frame 2 Frame 3 Frame 4

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Creating fire s

Adding lighting effects

When you have finished creating and animating the flame shape, you can add lighting nodes to make it glow. To do this:1 From the Node Panel, drag a Lighting Composite node and a Lighting node to the

Scene Graph and connect them above the Vector node:

2 At frame 1 on the XSheet, double-click to create a keyframe in the Exposure column, and type a value of 125.0.

3 Double-click in the Blur column and type a value of 10.00.4 With the Lighting node still selected, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac)

to open the Properties window and on the Node tab, select Alt-Backlight to give a very bright flame effect.

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5 In Director, create a dark colored background with a Color Card node, as described in Creating a background with a Color Card node on page 31, and connect it to the rest of the scene:

Finishing and reviewing the flame scene

You have now finished creating the flame effect.


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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on strokes and beads in the Animo documentation set

In addition to the basic information contained in the lesson Using strokes and beads on page 19, you�ll find more information in the manual Animo Compositing, in Using paths and vectors on page 177 and Working with strokes and beads on page 205.

You can also find information on the Turbulence node in the manual Animo Compositing, in Adding random effects on page 133.


There are also some relevant scenes in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folders:● Effects (contains examples of lightning and flames)● BeachParty (contains examples of flames)● NightClub (contains examples of flames)

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Interacting
colors st
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This lesson teaches you how to use one of the nodes that affect color in Director to create the effect of interacting colored lights.
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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand the basic use of the vector toolkit, as described in the manual Animo Compositing, in the chapter Using paths and vectors on page 177.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to create an effect that mimics the interaction of colored lights.


For this lesson, you will create the materials you�ll use.

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Interacting colorss

The lessonThe lesson involves the following steps:1 Creating a background.2 Creating the colored shapes.3 Making the colors interact.4 Completing the spotlight effect.

Creating a background

For all the effects described in this chapter, you will need to add a colored background. If you don�t remember know how to do this, see Creating a background with a Color Card node on page 31.

Creating effects with interacting colors

The mathematical nodes (Add, Contrast, Difference, Max, Min, Mix, Multiply, and Subtract) are particularly useful when you want to achieve effects where one color affects another. A good example of this is where beams of colored light overlap.

In the following example, you will create three colored spotlights that move to overlap each other. To do this, you will complete the following steps:1 Add a dark colored background, as described in Creating a background with a

Color Card node on page 31.Tip: Don�t connect the Color Card node to the camera until you finish drawing vectors to represent the rest of the scene.

2 Create the shapes of the spotlights on the floor, and animate them so that they overlap.

3 Use Add nodes to make the colors interact when the shapes overlap.4 Add lighting nodes to complete the effect and replay the results.

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Creating effects with interacting colors s

Creating the colored shapes

To create the shapes of the spotlights:1 Make sure the scene is at frame 1 and from the Image tab, drag a

Vector node to the Scene Graph and connect it to the camera.2 With the Vector node still selected in the Scene Graph, in the Drawing Window,

right-click to open the vector toolkit and click the Ellipse tool .3 Draw circle to represent a spotlight beam as it hits the floor:

4 In the vector toolkit, click the Fill tool to fill the ellipse with a color.

5 Click Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window and on the Fill tab, click the border of the color well to open the Color Chooser:

6 Choose a bright red color and close the Color Chooser.7 On the XSheet, double-click the Vector column�s title and change the

name from Vector to Red, to enable you to identify the vector shape easily later.

8 Important: Close the vector toolkit by clicking Close Toolkit and click outside the Vector node to ensure it is not selected.The Vector node�s tag changes color (by default, it changes from yellow to purple).

Click border to openColor Chooser

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Interacting colorss

9 Repeat steps 1�8 to draw and color two more ellipses, coloring them blue and green respectively (renaming their XSheet columns appropriately):

10 For each ellipse, add a Move node to enable you to move the ellipses so that they move towards the center to overlap and then move across the camera to separate, setting a final keyframe at frame 50:

11 To check that your ellipses are behaving as expected, create a replay by choosing Tools > Replay.

As you will notice, the shapes overlap, but the colors have no effect on each other. To make the colors interact, you need to use Add nodes, as described in the next section.

Frame 25 Frame 50

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Making the colors interact

To cause the ellipses you created in the last section to have an effect on each other, you need to use Add nodes in your scene. To do this:1 Make sure the scene is at frame 1.2 From the Filters tab of the Node Panel, drag two Add nodes to the

Scene Graph and connect them above the Move nodes:

The output of an Add node is the RGBA values of both the inputs added together and clipped to white. Accordingly, when you connect the Add nodes above the colored Vector nodes as shown, the ellipses in the Drawing Window interact in a similar way to colored light. It is important to connect the nodes so that all the Vector nodes interact to give the desired result.

3 Check your results by choosing Tools > Replay.

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Interacting colorss

Completing the spotlight effect

To complete the spotlight effect, you will connect the background into the scene and add lighting nodes and an Opacity node to give all the ellipses an illuminated, slightly blurred appearance. To do this:1 Make sure the scene is at frame 1 and connect the Color Card node to

the Camera node.2 From the Filters tab, drag a Lighting node and a Lighting Composite

node to the Scene Graph and connect them above the Add nodes:

3 On the XSheet, in the Lighting node�s Exposure column, double-click to create a keyframe and enter a value of 85.0.

4 In the Lighting node�s Blur column, double-click to create a keyframe and enter a value of 10.0.

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5 From the Filters tab of the Node Panel, drag an Opacity node to the Scene Graph and connect it above the Add nodes:

6 On the XSheet, in the Opacity node�s Exposure column, double-click to create a keyframe and enter a value of 70.0.

7 With the Lighting node selected, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window and on the Node tab, select Alt-Backlight to give a very bright lighting effect.

8 Check your results by choosing Tools > Replay.

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Interacting colorss

Finding out more

More on effects with colors in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on the color nodes in the manual Animo Compositing, in Changing the colors of images on page 239, and more on drawing and coloring basic shapes in the same manual, in Using paths and vectors on page 177.


There is also a relevant scene in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folder:● Effects (contains example of interacting colors in RGBAdd.scene)

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Vectorization
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Animo can output bitmap data (which has a fixed resolution) or vector data (a mathematical representation of an image, which can be smoothly resized as required). This lesson teaches you how to use Animo to add vectorization information to Animo output to produce SWF files.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand how to ink and paint levels, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Inking and painting drawings on page 85 and how to image process them, as described in Processing scanned images on page 31.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to vectorize a level and create a SWF file. You�ll complete the following steps:1 Vectorizing the level and creating the SWF.2 Changing a vectorized level.


For this lesson, you will use the following materials from the Tutorial folder:● From the Levels subfolder:

SurferWalking.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of a surfer character, which have been scanned, image processed, and painted.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:Surfer.crmThis is a color model for the above level.

● From the Backgrounds subfolder:Beach.tiledThis is a background of a beach.

● From the Scenes subfolder:Beach.sceneThis is a simple scene consisting of the above elements.

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Vectorizations

The lesson

Vectorizing the level and creating the SWF

To output a SWF file, you need to vectorize the relevant level files. You can do this in several ways, but for the purposes of this lesson, you will do this using Director. To do this:1 Open the following simple scene from the Scenes folder:

Beach.scene2 Choose Tools > Output > Macromedia Flash (SWF).

You are warned that the drawings must be vectorized:

3 Click Vectorize.A Progress window displays the status of vectorization, and when vectorization is complete, the Output Panel is displayed.

4 In the Output Panel, in the Frames Selection area, change the number of frames to 1�50.

5 In the Output Filename box, type a path and filename, or click the Browse button, choose a suitable location and type a filename, for example:E:\AnimoTutorial\Renders\walk.swf

6 In the Resolution area, check that the Width and Height are set to 320 and 240 pixels respectively and that the Camera Aspect Ratio box is selected.

7 Set the Bandwidth to an appropriate value for the systems on which you expect the swf file to be viewed.

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Vectorizing the level and creating the SWF s

8 As this example uses a bitmap background, in the Bitmap Options area, make sure JPEG is selected (this allows JPEG compression and will give a slightly smaller file), that Quality is set to 100, and Reduced Resolution is set to 100 (these options give the maximum quality image: if you wanted a smaller file, you would reduce these values until you arrived at a compromise between file quality and size).

9 To give maximum quality vector output, in the Vector Quality area, make sure the slider is to High.

10 In the Output Options area, ensure the Image Filters on Vectors option is selected. As this example does not use dynamic bitmaps or sound, make sure neither of these options is selected.

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Vectorizations

11 Check that your options are set as follows and then click Generate:

At the bottom of the Information area, the progress of outputting the scene is shown. When this is finished, the fields in the area are updated to show the result of the selected options on the pre send time, size and download time of the resulting SWF file. Your results should be similar to this:

12 Locate the output SWF file (for example, if you are using Windows NT, you can use Windows Explorer), and open it in a web browser or in Flash Player.C

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Changing a vectorized level s

13 Experiment with setting different options and then clicking Generate again to see the effect on the output file size. For example, try changing:◆ Bitmap Options to Lossless instead of JPEG. Observe the effect on

the quality of the background and the file size.◆ Reduced Resolution from 100 to 1. Observe the effect on the

quality of the background and the file size.◆ Vector Quality from High to Low. Observe the effect on the file size

and the quality of the output.14 When you have finished, locate your working directory, save the

scene as VectorSurfer.scene, and quit Director.

Tip: If you decide that you no longer need vectorization information in a level, you can easily remove it. To remove vectorization information:1 On the XSheet, Alt+click to select all the drawings in the level.2 Press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) to open the Properties window.3 On the Key tab, click Remove Vectors and when prompted, click

Remove.Vectorization information is removed from the level and the symbols in the level�s column on the XSheet are updated to reflect this.

Changing a vectorized level

If you change a level that has been vectorized, you must make sure that the changes are vectorized, so that they appear in the final SWF output. As an example, we will use the same scene you worked with in the last procedure, and will change a detail of the surfer, re-vectorize and then regenerate the output. To do this:1 Start InkPaint and open the SurferWalking level.2 In the Painting Window, right-click to open the toolkit and make sure

the Regions Toggle tool is pressed down, like this:

3 Select the Trace Brush tool and click the Fix mode button , to view the region lines.

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Vectorizations

4 At the top of the surfer�s shorts, draw a line to give the surfer a belt:

5 Click the Draft mode button and paint the belt that you have just created with an appropriate color from the existing palette (for example, you could use the Sandals color).Tip: To get the desired effect, you will need to ink the outline of the belt with the Default ink. You will need to also need to repaint the top of the shorts because paint is removed when you create new regions.

6 Repeat steps 2�5 for each drawing in the level and then save the level and quit InkPaint.

7 In Director, open the Beach.scene again.Notice that the belt appears correctly in the Drawing Window.

8 Choose Tools > Output .> Macromedia Flash (SWF), make sure the correct options are selected and click Generate.

9 When you play the generated SWF file, notice that the paint regions are now incorrect.Because you made a change to the regions in the drawings, you need to re-vectorize them before recreating the SWF file.

10 To do this, close the scene in Director, and in ImageProcessor, open the file SurferWalking.lvl.

11 In the Level/Model list, click SurferWalking.lvl to select it and then choose Tools > Files > Set Vectorize.Next to the Level/Model list, the Vect column changes to display the word on.

12 Choose Tools > Process.A Progress window displays information about the vectorization. Because you have not set any other values, you are informed that region processing is skipped for all drawings.

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Changing a vectorized level s

13 When vectorization of all drawings is complete, click Dismiss and quit ImageProcessor.

14 In Director, open the Beach.scene again.15 Choose Tools > Output .> Macromedia Flash (SWF), make sure the

correct options are selected and click Generate.Notice that this time, the belt and all the other regions are displayed correctly.

You have now finished the lessons on vectorization.

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Vectorizations

Finding out more

More on vectorization in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information in the manual Animo Rendering, Output & Vectorization, in the chapter Vectorization on page 39. If you intend to do a lot of work with SWF files, make sure you also read the appendix Nodes for SWF output on page 87.

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Using macros
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To save time in re-creating complex effects, Animo lets you save and re-use parts of scenes. To do this, you use macros. This lesson explains how to do this, using as an example the smoke effect you created in the chapter Effects with strokes and beads on page 29.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand the basics of compositing, as explained in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Simple compositing on page 133. You will also need to understand how to use a text editor (for example Notepad) to edit and save files in text-only format.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to create a macro of the smoke effect in the smoke scene, so that the smoke can be reused in other scenes.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Locating your macros.2 Creating the macro.3 Using the macro.



AshTray.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of an ashtray, which have been scanned, image processed, and painted.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:AshTray.crmThis is a color model for the above level.

● From the Scenes subfolder:Smoke.sceneThis is a simple scene consisting of the above elements.

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Using macross

The lesson

Locating your macros

To use macros, you first have to tell Animo where to find your macros. As the macro you will create will be available for you only, you will make it accessible only to someone who is logged on using your username. To do this:1 Decide where you will store your macros and create any new folders required.

If necessary, you can store macros in many different folders. For this example, create the following folder:AnimoTutorial\MyMacros

2 Start the Configure application by doing one of the following:◆ On Windows:

From the Start menu, point to Programs > Animo > Configure◆ On Mac OS X, click the Configure icon in the Dock.

3 Click on the Macro Paths tab.4 Click in the User list (because this macro will be available for your username

only) and then click Add.5 Use the Browse for Folder dialog box to locate the folder where you want to store

the macros:AnimoTutorial\MyMacros

6 In the the Browse for Folder dialog box, click OK.The path you have specified appears in the User list on the Macro Paths tab.

7 Click Save and then quit Configure.

Creating the macro

To create the macro:1 In Director, open smoke.scene. (This is the scene from which you will

create the macro.)2 Delete the Camera node, and the Ink&Paint node.3 Save the scene as SmokeMacro.scene in the folder you specified in Configure,

AnimoTutorial\MyMacros, and close the scene.4 Quit Director.

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Using the macro s

Using the macro

To use the macro you created:1 Start Director and choose File > New.2 In the Node Panel, click the tab MyMacros (or the name you gave to

your macro location).3 Drag the smoke macro to the Scene Graph and connect it to the

Camera node:

Note: If your macro contains more frames than the new scene, you will be prompted to either cancel adding the macro, or to add the macro and lengthen the scene to fit it. Click OK to continue.

You could now use the smoke macro in your new scene.

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Using macross

Tips:

● Nodes that are part of a macro are displayed in a slightly different color from other nodes (as shown in the above illustration).

● If you change the macro (for example, by deleting a node), you are warned that you will break the macro into its constituent parts.

● If you make minor changes (for example, by changing the value in one of the columns on the XSheet), the affected node displays an asterisk to show that you have changed the macro.

● Changing the copy of the macro in the current scene does not affect the original macro.

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on macros in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information in the manual Animo Compositing, in Re-using groups of nodes on page 35.

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Simple regging
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Regging is used when parts of one or more drawings in a scene must appear both in front of and behind another element, where the animation involved makes it difficult to accomplish the same effect with a matte.

This lesson teaches you how to use regging to allow a character to interact with the background.

For an example of a regging that involves two characters, see More regging on page 101.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand how to ink and paint levels, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Inking and painting drawings on page 85. You also need to understand how to construct a scene in Director, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Simple compositing and More compositing, from page 133 onwards.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll learn how to set up a scene that includes regging in Director, save the regging information that will close off the paint regions into the relevant drawings, image process the levels involved, and ink and paint the regged drawings using special inks, so that the levels interact correctly in the finished scene.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Deciding on the cel-to-background interaction2 Using InkPaint to trace lines from a background3 Setting up regging in Director4 Processing the reg drawings5 Inking and painting the reg drawings6 Viewing the regging scene in Director

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Simple reggings



SurferReg.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of a surfer, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.SurfBoard.lvlThe above level is also part of the scene, although it is not used in the regging.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:Surfer.crmThis is a color model for the above levels.

● From the Backgrounds subfolder:SurfHut.tiledThis is a background of the surfer�s hut.

● From the Scenes subfolder:CelToBGReg.sceneThis is a simple scene file, containing the above materials.

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The lesson s

The lessonThis lesson demonstrates cel-to-background regging. You will use regging to show the surfer character walking through a doorway in which his hand is in front of the doorway, while the rest of him is behind it. A similar effect can be accomplished using a matte (as shown in the scene in the SurfHut folder of the demonstration materials), but if you use regging you can obtain the correct interaction (in the example, between the surfer level and the doorway of the hut) without having to draw complex shapes around the interacting objects.

Deciding on the cel-to-background interaction

To set up a scene for cel-to-background regging, you first need to decide how the cel (in this case, the surfer character) will interact with the background (the hut). To do this:1 To open the scene, start Director, choose File > Open and in the

Tutorial folder, locate the scene CelToBGReg.Observe that although a Transform node has been used to position the surfer character in the doorway, the surfer appears on top of the background. You will use regging to make the surfer character interact correctly with the background, so that he appears to start the scene inside the hut, with only his fingers appearing in front of the hut, curled round the door frame.

2 Note that, to achieve this effect using regging, you will need to trace a line down the part of the doorway that interacts with the surfer character.

3 Close the scene.

Using InkPaint to trace lines from a background

After you have decided how the elements of the scene will interact, you need to trace a line from the background. To do this, you use InkPaint:1 Start InkPaint and choose File > New Traced Level.2 Locate the background SurfHut.tiled in the Tutorial folder and click

Open.3 In the New Traced Level dialog box, locate the Levels folder in your

working directory and enter a name for the level that will hold the lines, for example SurfHutTrace.lvl.C

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Simple reggings

4 In the Set Level Name dialog box, accept the default name of S and then click OK.

5 To view the drawings of the surfer, so that you can see exactly where to draw the regging lines that will close off the paint regions of the surfer level, choose Image > Add Drawing.

6 Locate and select the level SurferReg.lvl and then click Open.7 When you are prompted, select drawing SSH 1.8 Make sure the Zoom list gives you a suitable view of the background: if not,

change it, for example to 100% or 50%. You will probably also need to use the Pan tool or drag with the middle mouse button to see the required area of the background.

9 In the Painting window, right-click to open the toolkit and click the Trace Brush tool:

10 Draw the regging line onto the background. You need to draw the line at the point where the surfer should be partially hidden by the hut, like this:

Note: Although the illustration shows a white line, this is for clarity only: the line you draw will be black.

11 To remove the drawings when you have finished, choose Image > Remove Drawings..

12 Save the level by choosing File > Save and then quit InkPaint.

The next step is to set up the regging in Director.

Reggingline

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Setting up regging in Director s

Setting up regging in Director

After you have traced the line from the background in InkPaint, you are ready to set up the regging. To do this, in Director you add to the CelToBGReg Scene Graph:● The level you created in InkPaint● A Register To node

To set up the regging:1 In Director, open the scene CelToBGReg.2 From the Ink&Paint tab, drag a Register To node to the Scene Graph

and connect it above the Transform node belonging to the SurferReg.lvl node.

3 From the Ink&Paint tab, drag an Ink&Paint node to the Scene Graph and when prompted, locate the SurfHutTrace.lvl you created in the previous step.

4 Connect the new Ink&Paint node to the middle input of the Register To node:

5 Select the Register To node, if it�s not already selected.6 Press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) and in the Properties window click on

the Node tab.

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Simple reggings

7 Select the SurfHutTrace level from the list on the Node tab.8 In the drop-down list at the bottom of the tab, click BG Lines:

Choosing BG Lines marks the drawing as a background trace line. The line will not appear in the final output; instead it will act as a slight blend, giving a smooth anti-aliased edge between the surfer character and background.If you don�t choose BG Lines when you�re using a background trace line, you may get a hard edge and/or a ghost image of the line.

9 In the Register To node�s SurfHutTrace column on the XSheet, double-click to add a keyframe at frame 1.The keyframe is set to a hold and in the column, On is displayed to signify that the lines will be copied from the reg-to drawings.

10 As you want the trace lines to be copied into the surfer drawings for the frames in which they�re required only, you need to turn off the hold for the remaining frames. In the Drawing Window, use the Next Frame and Previous Frame buttons to check at which frame the surfer is completely outside the hut. You will find that this happens at frame 15.

11 To turn off the copying of the lines, in the Register To node�s SurfHutTrace column on the XSheet, hold down the B key and click on frame 15. Note that Off is displayed in the SurfHutTrace column.

12 You now need to copy the lines you traced from the background into the surfer drawings. To do this, in the Scene Graph select the Register To node.

Background tracelines selected

BG Linesselected

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13 If you need to open the Properties window again, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac), and on then click the Save Reg into Drawings button.You are warned that the information you�re saving will cause image processing and painting to be removed from 7 drawings:

14 Click OK to continue.The circular symbols for the drawings in the SurferReg level on the XSheet show that inking and painting and processing has been removed.

15 Choose File > Save to save the scene and then File > Exit to quit Director.

You can now image process the surfer drawings in the SurferReg level to which the traced lines have been copied.

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Simple reggings

Processing the reg drawings

After you have set up the regging in Director and saved the regging information into the relevant drawings (in this example, these are drawings 1�7), you need to image process the drawings that contain the traced lines. To do this:1 In ImageProcessor, open the SurferReg level.2 In the Level/Model list, click SurferReg.lvl to select it.

The drawings are listed in the right pane.3 Click on the first drawing (SSH 1) and then Shift+click the seventh

drawing (SSH 7) to select drawings 1�7.Drawings 1�7 are highlighted, to show they are selected.

4 In the Controls window, select Advanced in the Region Layer area and Manual in the Trace Layer area and make sure the settings are:In the Region Layer area:◆ Line Pickup � 180◆ Line Growing � 254In the Trace Layer area:◆ Black Clamp � 0◆ White Clamp � 255

5 Choose Tools > Drawings > Set All Values.The selected drawings are marked with a green check mark:

6 Make sure drawings 1�7 are selected and then choose Tools > Process Now.A progress window appears while the selected drawings are processed.

7 When the progress window shows that processing is complete, click Dismiss to close the window and quit ImageProcessor.

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Inking and painting the reg drawings s

Inking and painting the reg drawings

After you have image processed the drawings into which the reg lines have been copied, you are ready to ink and paint them. To do this:1 In InkPaint, open the file SurferReg.lvl.

The first seven drawings are unpainted because new regions have been created by the copied reg lines.

2 Make sure Ink, Draft, or Final mode is selected, and that the first drawing is selected in the browser window.The drawing in the Painting Window should look similar to this:

3 In the normal way, paint the parts of the surfer that will not be hidden by the hut background, including the fingers that cross the reg line, curled round the doorway:

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Simple reggings

4 Select the Transparent well and ink and paint the other, unwanted parts of the character. (You might need to zoom in and select the Freehand Inkbrush to do this accurately.):

Tip: If you cannot ink the lines of the surfer character, choose View > Reg Layers and ensure that the Reg option is selected. (If Reg to is selected, you will not be able to ink the surfer�s lines.)

5 To ink the line of the doorway (the traced line you copied from the background), make sure the Ink tool is selected, choose View > Reg Layers and select the Reg to option.

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6 Ink the small part of the doorway over which the surfer�s fingers are curled with the Reg Off ink. When you have finished, while Reg Off ink is still selected, Track mode will display the drawing like this:

7 The rest of the line around the doorway is automatically inked with Reg Over ink. In Track mode, with Reg Over ink selected, the drawing should look like this:

8 In a similar way, ink and paint drawings 2�7 (if you want, use Autopaint to speed up the process).

9 Save the level and quit InkPaint.

Line inked withReg Off ink

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Simple reggings

After you have inked and painted the drawings, you are ready to view the finished effect in Director.

Viewing the regging scene in Director

After you have inked and painted the reg drawings, you can view your work in Director. To do this:1 In Director, open the CelToBG scene.2 Choose Tools > Replay and check that the regging has worked as expected.3 Observe that the surfer�s fingers appear on top of the doorway and that in

subsequent frames he appears to emerge from inside the hut.

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on regging in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on regging in the manual Animo Advanced Features, in Regging on page 39.


You can see a relevant scene in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folder:● Regging (contains examples of both cel-to-background and cel-to-cel regging)

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More regging
Sys

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Regging is used when parts of one or more drawings in a scene must appear both in front of and behind another element, where the animation involved makes it difficult to accomplish the same effect with a matte.

This lesson teaches you how to use regging to allow two characters to interact.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand how to ink and paint levels, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Inking and painting drawings on page 85. You also need to understand how to construct a scene in Director, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Simple compositing and More compositing, from page 133 onwards.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll learn how to set up a scene that includes regging in Director, save the regging information that will close off the paint regions into the relevant drawings, image process the levels involved, and ink and paint the regged drawings using special inks, so that the levels interact correctly in the finished scene.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Deciding on the cel-to-cel interaction2 Setting up regging in Director3 Processing the reg drawings4 Inking and painting the reg drawings5 Viewing the regging scene in Director

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More reggings



AtlasHead.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of the head of the Atlas character, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.AtlasArm.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of an arm of the Atlas character, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.AtlasBody.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of the body of the Atlas character, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.Octopus.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of an octopus, which have been scanned, image processed and painted.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:Muscle.crmThis is a color model for the above Atlas levels.Octopus.crmThis is a color model for the above Octopus level.

● From the Scenes subfolder:CelToCelReg.sceneThis is a simple scene file, containing the above materials.

Copy these materials to the equivalent subfolders in your working folder.

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The lesson s

The lessonThis lesson demonstrates cel-to-cel regging. You will use regging to show the octopus twining around the Atlas character. A similar effect can be accomplished using a matte, but if you use regging you can obtain the correct interaction (in the example, between the Atlas character�s level and that of the octopus) without having to draw complex shapes around the interacting characters.

Deciding on the cel-to-cel interaction

To set up a scene for cel-to-cel regging, you first need to decide how the cels (in this case, the strong man Atlas character and the octopus) will interact. To do this:➤ To open the scene, start Director, choose File > Open and in your

working folder, locate the scene CelToCelReg.scene.Observe that the octopus, which has not yet been inked and painted, appears on top of the strong man. You will use regging to make the characters interact correctly, so that the octopus appears to twine around the other character.

The next step is to set up the regging in Director.

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More reggings

Setting up regging in Director

To set up the regging, in Director you add a Register To node to the Scene Graph.

To set up the regging:1 In Director, make sure you have opened the scene CelToCelReg.2 From the Ink&Paint tab, drag a Register To node to the Scene Graph

and connect it above the Octopus.lvl node:

3 Connect the following nodes to the middle (black) channel of the Register To node:◆ AtlasBodyReg◆ AtlasHeadReg◆ AtlasArmRegNote: The levels for the Atlas character should now be connected to both the Camera and to the Register To node.This makes available the lines from the reg-to drawings (the Atlas drawings) for copying into the reg drawing (the octopus drawing).Your Scene Graph will now look similar to this:

4 With the Register To node selected, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) and in the Properties window ensure the Node tab is selected.

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5 In the list on the Node tab, click on Reg level Octopus:

6 In the Register To node�s AtlasBody column on the XSheet, double-click to add a keyframe at frame 1.The keyframe is set to a hold and in the column, ON is displayed to signify that the lines will be copied from the reg-to drawings from frame 1.Repeat for the AtlasHead and AtlasArm columns:

7 You now need to copy the lines from the Atlas drawings to the Octopus drawings. To do this, in the Scene Graph ensure the Register To node is selected.

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More reggings

8 If you need to open the Properties window again, press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac), and on then click the Save Reg into Drawings button.After a short pause, you are warned that the information you�re saving will cause image processing and painting to be removed from 16 drawings:

9 Click OK to continue.The circular symbols for the drawings in the Octopus level on the XSheet become white, to show that processing has been removed.

10 Choose File > Save to save the scene and then File > Exit to quit Director.

Because image processing information has been removed from the Octopus level, you must now image process the Octopus level before inking and painting it.

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Processing the reg drawings s

Processing the reg drawings

After you have set up the regging in Director and saved the regging information into the level, you need to image process the drawings that contain the copied lines. To do this:1 In ImageProcessor, open the Octopus level.2 In the Level/Model list, click Octopus.lvl to select it.

The drawings are listed in the right pane.3 In the Controls window:

◆ In the Region Layer area, select Advanced and ensure the Line Pickup value is 180 and the Line Growing value is 254.

◆ In the Trace Layer area, select Manual and set the Black Clamp value to 41 and the White Clamp value to 249.

Note: These values are suitable for the supplied Octopus drawings. For your own drawings, you will need to ensure you use the same processing values as those used for the original level, before regging information was added.

4 Click on the first drawing (O 1) and then Shift+click the last drawing (O 1+15) to select all the drawings.The drawings are highlighted, to show they are selected.

5 Choose Tools > Drawings > Set All Values.The drawings are marked with a green check mark:

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More reggings

6 Choose Tools > Process.A progress window appears while the selected drawings are processed.

7 When the Progress window shows that processing is complete, click Dismiss to close the window, and then exit ImageProcessor.

You can now ink and paint the newly processed drawings.

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Inking and painting the reg drawings

After you have image processed the drawings into which the reg lines have been copied, you are ready to ink and paint them. To do this:1 In InkPaint, open the file Octopus.lvl.

Note that new regions have been created by the lines copied from the Atlas drawings.

2 To add the appropriate color model to the octopus drawings, in the browser window, click Models, choose Add Model, and from the Color Models subfolder in your working folder, choose Octopus.crm.

3 In the Reference window, select OCT 1 from the list at the bottom left.4 Paint the background with the Transparent color well.5 Make sure Paint, Ink, Draft, or Final mode is selected, and that the

first drawing is selected in the browser window:

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More reggings

6 With the Fill Paint tool, paint the body of the octopus and the tentacles that are not twined around the strong man character:

Note: To make the illustrations clearer, the color of the octopus has been darkened in the print manual.

7 Paint the part of the octopus that twines around the strong man�s neck:

8 Where the octopus drawing appears on top of the strong man, to prevent the lines from the strong man showing through, you need to ink them with the Reg Off ink. To do this:a In the Painting Window, right-click to open the toolkit and select

the Ink tool .b Choose View > Reg Layers.

The Reg Layers window lets you select the drawing you want to change. Each drawing is represented by a different color: by default, the Reg drawing (in this case, the Octopus) is displayed in black, and the three Reg to drawings (in this case AtlasBody, AtlasHead and AtlasArm) are displayed in red, green and blue respectively.

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c Because you are going to begin by inking the lines from the AtlasHead Reg to drawing, you need to select the green lines. To do this, select Reg to at the beginning of the row which contains the green color well:

Note that at the top of the Palette Window, three new inks are now displayed: Reg Off, Reg Over and Reg Under.

d Ensure the Reg Off color well is selected:

e Ink the lines from the Atlas character�s head (displayed in green by default) that will be hidden by the octopus� tentacle:

Note that when you ink the lines with Reg Off ink, the color of the Reg Off lines is displayed as faded: you can see this if you are using Ink, Draft or Final modes. If you are using Paint mode, the lines turn black.

Click to select

Ink withReg Off ink

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More reggings

9 To save time, from the Palette Window select the Body color and with the Fast Paint tool, paint the rest of the octopus, dragging over the lines from the strong man drawing that you want to be hidden. This automatically inks the underlying reg to ink lines with Reg Off ink:

Tips: ◆ Use the Fast Paint tool to paint the tentacle that twines around the Atlas

character�s neck.◆ If you have difficulty selecting lines by dragging over complex areas of the

drawing, zoom in.◆ To make sure that you have inked all the lines correctly with the

Reg Off ink, either check the drawing in Ink, Draft or Final mode, making sure that all the relevant lines are displayed in a faded color, or check the drawing in Paint mode, which displays all the Reg Off lines in the Reg to drawings in black.

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10 Finally, ink two additional reg to lines with the Reg Off ink, using the Ink tool:◆ A line from the AtlasHead drawing (green)◆ A line from the AtlasArm drawing (blue)

Tip: To ink the lines from the AtlasHead drawing, make sure the green Reg to drawing is selected in the Reg Layers window (you may need to zoom in to ensure you ink all of the lines). To ink the lines from the AtlasArm drawing, make sure the blue Reg to drawing is selected in the Reg Layers window:

Ink withReg Off ink

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More reggings

11 Use the Transparent color well to ink and paint the rest of the drawing, so that it doesn�t appear in the scene:

Tip: To ink the lines from the reg drawing (the octopus) with the Transparent color, first make sure the Reg drawing is selected in the Reg Layers window:

12 If you still have unpainted areas, use the Smart Fill tool and, if necessary, select the Unpainted color well and use Track mode to find them.

13 In a similar way, ink and paint the other drawings (if you want, use Autopaint to speed up the process).

14 Save the level and quit InkPaint.

After you have inked and painted the drawings, you are ready to view the finished effect in Director.

Click to select

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Viewing the regging scene in Director s

Viewing the regging scene in Director

After you have inked and painted the reg drawings, you can view your work in Director. To do this:1 In Director, open the CelToCelReg scene.2 On the XSheet, double-click in the first cell of the Octopus column�s Palette

column to open the Properties window.3 On the Key tab, select the Output palette.

The characters now interact correctly:

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More reggings

Finding out more

More on regging in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on regging in the manual Animo Advanced Features, in Regging on page 39.


You can see a relevant scene in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folder:● Regging (contains examples of both cel-to-background and cel-to-cel regging)

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10 ms

Using color trace
lines st
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S
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Animo lets you scan line drawings in color and save the color trace line information to create regions. The colored lines can then be displayed in InkPaint so that they can be inked with the correct colors and/or blends.
You can choose to automatically ink the lines as you are painting a drawing and if required, you can also change the assignment of colors to the lines to suit your drawings.

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About this lesson s

About this lesson


You need to understand how to ink and paint levels, as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapter Inking and painting drawings on page 85.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use InkPaint to open a drawing that contains color trace lines. You�ll then view the colored lines and ink and paint the level to achieve the finished effect. Having done this, you�ll try out the auto-inking feature. To finish, you�ll change the color used to represent blend lines to a more suitable one.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Viewing color lines2 Painting a level containing color trace lines3 Auto-inking a level4 Changing the colors assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons



ColorTrace.lvlThis is a level holding a drawing of a lifeguard containing color trace lines, which have been scanned in color and image processed.AutoInk.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of a surfer character containing color trace lines, which have been scanned in color and image processed.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:ColorTrace.crmThis is a color model for the above ColorTrace level.Surfer.crmThis is a color model for the AutoInk level.

Copy the above materials to your working folder.

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Using color trace liness

The lesson

Viewing color lines

The level that you will use has been drawn with colored pencils, then scanned in color and image processed in the normal way. To ink and paint the level containing color trace lines:1 In InkPaint, open the level ColorTrace.lvl and make sure the reference drawing in

the reference window is C1.Note: This level is already associated with the ColorTrace.crm color model.

2 To view the color trace lines, make sure the mode selected in the Painting Window is either Paint, Ink, See-thru or Draft, and then click the Color Scan Mode button:

The lines where tones are to be applied are shown in color:

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Painting a level containing color trace lines s

Painting a level containing color trace lines

After you have displayed the color lines, you can paint the level with the appropriate colors and ink the color lines with the Blend ink.

The result should look similar to the following:

Exit out of the level without saving it as you will be using the unpainted version in a later lesson. (If you have saved the level, to start with a clean version, copy the ColorTrace.lvl from the Tutorial folder to your working folder again.)

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Auto-inking a level

In addition to simply viewing the color lines and inking them with the colors or blends you choose, you can also automatically ink lines as you paint a drawing�s regions, producing self-traced lines. To do this:1 In InkPaint, open the level AutoInk.lvl and make sure the reference

drawing in the reference window is Surfer 1.Note: Parts of this level have been drawn with colored pencils, and the level was then scanned in color and image processed in the normal way. It is already associated with the Surfer.crm color model.

2 Click the Draft mode button and make sure the Toggle Color Scan button is also pressed down:

Colored lines are displayed in the Painting Window:

3 You are going to make the zig-zag line across the shorts into a self-traced line. Because this line is colored red, click the Red Self Trace Toggle button to select it:

4 In the Palette Window, click the Shorts 01 palette well.

These buttons mustbe pressed down

Coloredlines

Red Self Trace Togglebutton selected

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Auto-inking a level s

5 In the Painting Window, click on the lower half of the shorts to add paint:

Note that:◆ The zig-zag line is automatically inked with the Shorts 01 color, but

the blue line surrounding the shorts is not inked because you selected only the Red Self Trace Toggle button.

◆ The auto-inking worked because the Shorts 01 color is set to be both an Ink and a Paint in the color model:

You cannot use a color that is a Paint only (for example, the Shorts 02 color) to auto-ink colored lines. To use auto-inking, the colors that you want to use must have the Ink attribute selected, as well as the Paint attribute, in the color model.

When you have finished experimenting with the self-trace feature, close the level without saving it.

Both Ink and Paintselected

Color well shows bothink and paint attributeshave been chosen forthis color

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Changing the colors assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons

You may find that the colors automatically assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons are not suitable for your drawings. If this is the case, you can use the Color Trace Classification window to change the color assigned to any Self Trace Toggle button to give the required result. The Color Trace Classification window is available in both ImageProcessor and in InkPaint. In this example, you will:1 Open a level in ImageProcessor and view the default assignment of colors to

the colored trace lines.2 Change the default assignment of colors to a more appropriate one and

process the level.3 Ink and paint the level using auto-inking.

Opening and viewing a color trace level in ImageProcessor

To see the colors in the ColorTrace level before the effects of processing:1 In ImageProcessor, open the ColorTrace.lvl2 In the Level/Model column, click on ColorTrace.lvl and then double-click on the

drawing C1.Both the Color Trace Classification and the Results windows appear.

3 At the bottom of the Results window, make sure that the Color control is set to Raw and observe the colors displayed.You may have noticed when you first opened this drawing in InkPaint (see Viewing color lines on page 121), that the colored lines marking the tones within both the character�s flesh and in the swimsuit are displayed as red lines. This could cause confusion and is not what was shown in the original drawing. To check this, right-click and select the Zoom tool to zoom in on the area of the character�s swimsuit:

Orange lines

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Changing the colors assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons s

These lines were drawn in orange, but because there is no orange self trace button in InkPaint, the red color has been assigned to them.

4 Close the file without processing it as you will now change the colors in InkPaint.

Changing the default assignment of colors

Having seen that the colors assigned to the lines in the ColorTrace drawing are not quite as required, you can change them using the Color Trace Classification window in either ImageProcessor or InkPaint. The following steps lead you through the process in InkPaint:1 In InkPaint, open the level ColorTrace.lvl and make sure the reference drawing in

the reference window is C1.2 Click the Draft mode button and make sure the Toggle Color Scan button is also

pressed down to display the colored trace lines in the Painting Window.3 Click the Show scan color classification editor button:

The Color Trace Classification window shows the assignment of colors in the drawing:

The colors shown in the top part of the window are the colors within the drawing: in this case, mainly red, orange and blue, which are assigned to the self trace buttons, represented by the slider controls at the bottom of the window. It is apparent that both the red and the orange colors are assigned to the red self trace button. It would be better if the orange lines were assigned to the yellow button, so that they could be more easily distinguished in the drawing.

Click

Six slider controls, which representthe six self trace buttons

Colors foundin the drawing

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4 To change the assignment of the yellow button, drag the yellow slider control so that it is underneath the orange color from the drawing.

5 To display your change in the drawing, in the Color Trace Classification window, click the Apply button and then click to this drawing.Tip: If you change your mind about the way you have assigned the colors, to change the color settings back to their defaults, click Reset.In the Painting Window, the lines in the lifeguard�s swimsuit are now displayed in yellow, but the lines in the flesh areas are still red:

Drag

Yellowlines

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Changing the colors assigned to the Self Trace Toggle buttons s

Inking and painting the level using auto-inking

You can now ink and paint the level. To save time, use the auto-inking technique described in Auto-inking a level on page 123 to apply ink as well as paint to the regions enclosed by the yellow, blue and red lines. To do this:1 With the yellow self trace button pressed down, paint the swimsuit with the

two swimsuit colors.2 With the red self trace button pressed down, paint the flesh areas with the two

flesh colors.3 With the blue self trace button pressed down, paint the hat and the hair with

their respective colors.4 Finish off by using the blend ink where appropriate.

When you have finished, save and close the level.

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Finding out more

More on color trace lines in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on setting scanning options in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Scanning line artwork on page 3. You�ll find more information on using color trace lines in the manual Animo Inking & Painting, in Displaying and inking colored lines on page 122 and Automatic self-trace inking of colored lines on page 124.


You can view a relevant file in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the folder:● ColorScan (contains a level that was scanned showing color trace lines)

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Using a
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This lesson teaches you how to use Director to simulate a multiplane camera. You do this using the Depth and Multiplane Camera nodes, which are on the Position tab of the Node Panel.
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About this lesson s

About this lesson


Before doing this lesson, you must first do the lessons in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in Simple compositing and More compositing, from page 133 onwards. You don�t need to have done any of the other lessons � but if you�ve already done the earlier lessons in the Animo Basic Tutorial, it will help you.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use the Director and Replayer applications. You�ll learn:● How to construct a scene using a multiplane camera● How to control the multiplane camera using the XSheet.● How to control the multiplane camera using the dedicated Multiplane

Camera window.



Leaf.lvlThis is a level holding drawings of leaves, which have been scanned, image processed, inked and painted.

● From the ColorModels subfolder:Leaf.crmThis is the color model used to ink and paint the above level.

● From the Backgrounds subfolder:SurfHut.tiledThis is a background of a beach hut.

● From the Scenes subfolder:SimpleMultiplane.sceneThis is a scene using the above material.

Copy all the above materials to the equivalent subfolders in your working folder.

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Using a multiplane cameras

The lesson

Reviewing the scene

Before you add a multiplane camera to the example scene, review it so that you can see the impact of adding a Multiplane Camera node. To do this:1 Ensure Director is running.

If it isn�t, choose Start > Programs > Animo > Director or double-click on its icon.

2 Choose File > Open, and from your working folder, open the file:SimpleMultiplane.scene

3 Choose Tools > Replay and click Start to create a preview of the scene. When you play the replay, note that although the leaves part to reveal the hut, the scene is completely flat and there is no camera movement. A more interesting effect could be achieved by introducing some depth to the scene. To introduce depth, you will use a Multiplane Camera node.

Adding a Multiplane Camera node

To introduce depth to the scene, you will add a Multiplane Camera node in Director. To do this:1 Ensure the Scene Graph and the Node Panel are displayed.

If they aren�t, choose View > Scene Graph and/or Tools > Node Panel as necessary.

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Adding a Multiplane Camera node s

2 Disconnect the input(s) from your scene�s Camera node:

3 Replace your scene�s Camera node with a Multiplane Camera node. To do this:a To delete the Camera node, select it and then press the Delete key.

The Output node appears, because you no longer have a camera in your scene:

b Drag a Multiplane Camera node from the Position page of the Node Panel to the Scene Graph.

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c Connect the Multiplane Camera node�s output to the Output node�s input.The Output node disappears again, because you have a camera in your scene, and it�s now connected to the Output:

4 For every plane in the scene, add a Depth node. This drawing has three planes � the two leaves, one on top of the other, and the background � so from the Position tab of the Node Panel, drag three Depth nodes to the Scene Graph.

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5 Connect the Depth nodes between the output of each plane and the Multiplane Camera node:

◆ Each Depth node sets the depth of the plane beneath it in the Scene Graph � that is, the distance of the plane from the multiplane camera.

◆ The Multiplane Camera node composites the planes.Because the Depth nodes don�t yet have values, the Multiplane Camera doesn�t know which plane to put in front. You�ll probably find that � for now � the leaves are composited behind the background, so you can�t see them.

6 Name the new nodes, so it�s easier to tell which one you�re working with:a Ensure the XSheet is displayed.

If it isn�t, choose View > XSheet.b Click on the Depth node above the Transform LeftLeaf node. It

changes color, and so does the corresponding column in the XSheet.

c Double-click on the Depth name at the very top of the Depth column, and change it to LeftLeaf.

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d Change the name of the Depth node of the Transform RightLeaf node to RightLeaf, as described in steps b�c.

e Now select the Depth node that�s connected to the SurfHut node, and name it SurfHut:

7 Place keyframes in the XSheet to set the depth of each plane:a Ensure the XSheet is displayed.

If it isn�t, choose View > XSheet.b Scroll the XSheet so that frame 1 is visible.c In the Depth column named LeftLeaf, double-click on frame 1 to

add a keyframe. Set its value to -1.78 fields:

The left leaf now re-appears in the Drawing Window.

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d In the Depth column named RightLeaf, double-click on frame 1 to add a keyframe. Set its value to -2.16 fields:

The right leaf now re-appears in the Drawing Window, composited on top of the LeftLeaf node.

e In the Depth column named SurfHut, double-click on frame 1 to add a keyframe. Set its value to -0.46 fields:

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8 Set keyframes in the XSheet to control the multiplane camera:a In the Multiplane Camera node�s Depth column, double-click on

frame 1 to add a keyframe. Set its value to -6.00 fields:

b Add a keyframe at frame 1 of the Lens Angle column, the E/W and N/S columns, and the Angle column, and leave them all at their default values:

9 Open the Multiplane Camera window, and view the end of the scene. To do this:a Ensure the Multiplane Camera node is still selected.

If it isn�t, click on the node in the Scene Graph, or on the top of its XSheet column.

b Press Alt+Enter (Windows) or !+I (Mac) and click on the Node tab:

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c Click on the Multiplane Window button.The Multiplane Window appears:

d Display frame 50 by typing 50 in the Frame box.10 Use the Multiplane window to set up the scene:

a In the View area at the bottom left of the Multiplane Window, make sure that Top is selected, allowing you to look down on the scene from above.

b Drag one of the lines showing the field of view to set the Lens Angle to about 70° :

Framebox

70° degrees

Drag

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c Using the ruler as a guideline, drag the camera just over 2 fields towards the background, so its Depth is about -4.50 fields:

d Using the ruler as a guideline, drag the left leaf (at the top of the Multiplane Window) over 1 field towards the camera, so its Depth is about -2.50 fields:

e Using the ruler as a guideline, drag the right leaf (at the bottom of the Multiplane Window) over half a field towards the camera, so its Depth is about -2.90 fields

f In the View area at the bottom left of the Multiplane Window, select Side, to allow you to view the scene from the side.

Drag

Ruler

Background

Drag

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g Hold down the Ctrl key, and drag the camera downwards so that the N/S setting is about 3.00S:

h Close the Multiplane Camera window.11 Generate a replay to preview the scene; see Previewing your scene on page 159.12 Save the scene:

a Choose File > Save As.You�re asked where to save the file.

b Find the Scenes folder in your working directory (see Creating a working folder on page xvii).

c Save the scene as:Multiplane.scene

13 Close the scene by choosing File > Close.14 If you�re not doing the next lesson, and you�ve finished using Director,

choose File > Exit.

Ctrl-drag

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Finding out more

The Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information about using the multiplane camera in the manual Animo Advanced Features, in the chapter Using a multiplane camera on page 65.


A relevant scene is included in the demonstration material supplied with Animo. See the scene in the folder:● Multiplane

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XSheet based
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So far, you�ve seen how you can use Animo for a production where you create and prepare the artwork before creating the XSheet.However, if you prefer, you can use Animo to work the other way round, creating your XSheet before you create and prepare the artwork. This lesson shows you how to work this way.
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About the lesson s

About the lesson


Before doing this lesson, you must first do the lessons Simple compositing and More compositing, from page 133 onwards. You don�t need to have done any of the other lessons � but if you�ve already done the earlier lessons in this Tutorial, it will help you.

Note: If you want to create a scene by first creating all the elements for the scene (the inked and painted levels, and the backgrounds/overlays), and then creating the scene itself, see the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, in the chapters beginning with Scanning line artwork on page 3.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use Director to create a scene before you have scanned or prepared any drawings for it. To do this you need to:● Add unscanned levels to a scene.● Create the rest of the scene.● Save the scene.

Later, you can:● Scan the unscanned levels.


For this lesson, you will create an unscanned level to hold drawings of the surfer, after you have scanned them.

You will also use the following materials from the Tutorial folder:● From the Backgrounds subfolder:

Beach.tiled

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XSheet based productionss

The lesson

Adding an unscanned level to a scene

To add an unscanned level to a scene:1 Start Director by choosing Start > Programs > Animo > Director or

double-clicking on its icon.2 In Director, choose File > New to create a new blank scene.3 Ensure the Scene Graph and the Node Panel are displayed.

If they aren�t, choose View > Scene Graph and/or Tools > Node Panel as necessary.

4 In the Node Panel, from the Ink&Paint tab, drag the Unscanned Level node to the Scene Graph.This creates a new empty level, ready for the drawings to be scanned in.

5 In the dialog box, find the Levels folder in your working directory, type a name, for example UnscannedSurfer, and click OK.

6 In the Set Level Name dialog, accept the default level name of U, and then click OK, or press Enter.

7 When prompted whether you want to set up drawing names, click OK, and in the Setup Drawing Names dialog box, type 13 in the number of new names box, and then click OK.The Unscanned Level node that you dragged to the Scene Graph then becomes an Ink&Paint node.

8 Ensure the Ink&Paint node is connected to the Camera node:

9 On the XSheet, Alt+click on the first drawing to select all the drawings, then press Ctrl+2 to retime them on 2�s, and then Ctrl+Shift+0 to copy all the drawings to the end of the XSheet.

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Creating the rest of the scene s

Creating the rest of the scene

Now create the rest of the scene:1 From the Image tab, drag a BG/OL node to the Scene Graph and when

prompted, located Beach.tiled and click Open to add it to the background, ensuring the compositing order is correct.

2 Add a Move node to the scene above the Ink&Paint node.3 Set the values in the XSheet for the Move and Camera nodes � just as

if your scene planners had specified them:a At frame 1, set the Camera node to 9.66E, and the Size to 11.00;

and set the Move node to 10.00E, 2.00S.a At frame 49, set the Camera node to 0.17W; and set the Move node

to 0.05W.4 Go to frame 1 and change the timing of the Move node to On 2�s to match that

of the surfer.5 On the XSheet, double-click Frame 1 in the Camera column�s E/W subcolumn,

and on the Timing tab of the Properties window, click Timing Library and from the list, select Slowout --> Slowin.

Saving the scene

You now have the same scene as you created at the start of the Animo Basic Tutorial, except that the surfer level has no drawings scanned. Save the scene, and quit Director:1 Save the scene:

a Choose File > Save As.You�re asked where to save the file.

b Find the Scenes folder in your working directory (see Creating a working folder on page xvii).

c Save the scene as:XSheetBased.scene

2 Choose File > Exit to quit Director.

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XSheet based productionss

Scanning the unscanned levels

To scan the unscanned drawing in the scene, you simply tell ScanLevel to check the scene. It reports any unscanned drawings in the scene; you can choose to scan them, or ignore them (and scan them later on).1 Ensure ScanLevel is running.

If it isn�t, choose Start > Programs > Animo > ScanLevel or double-click on its icon.

2 Choose Tools > Scan Scenes.3 Select the scene you just saved:

a Find the Scenes folder in your working directory (see Creating a working folder on page xvii).

b Choose the scene:XSheetBased.scene

c Click Open.4 You�ll then be told that the scene includes Unscanned Drawings:

You can:◆ Choose Scan Now to scan the unscanned drawings.◆ Choose Ignore to ignore the unscanned drawings � probably

because they�re not yet ready.5 Choose Ignore � we�re going to end this example here�.6 Choose File > Exit to quit ScanLevel.

� To finish the scene, you�d instead scan the drawings, image process them, create a color model for them, and finally ink and paint them. You�d do this in the same way as described in the manual Animo Basic Tutorial, beginning with Scan-ning line artwork on page 3.C

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

The Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information in the manual Animo Compositing, in the chapter Adding images to your scene on page 109.

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Changing Animo
defaults st
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By using the Configure application, you can change the way Animo appears and behaves. This lesson explains how to do this, taking as an example the ability to show full path names in Animo applications.
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About the lesson s

About the lesson


You need to understand how to start Animo applications and how to open a scene in Director.

What you’ll learn

In this lesson, you�ll use the Configure application to change Animo default behavior. You will change a setting to change the way Animo behaves, save the edited Configure settings, and open a scene in Animo so that you can see the effect of your change.

You�ll complete the following steps:1 Using Configure to change a default setting.2 Checking the change to the default settings.


For this lesson, you will open the Beach.scene used in previous lessons.

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Changing Animo defaultss

The lesson

Using Configure to change a default setting

To change the default behavior and appearance of Animo, you need to use the Configure application. In this lesson, you will change one line that will tell all Animo applications to display the full path of the currently open file. To do this:1 In Director, open Beach.scene and notice that at the top of the window, only the

file name is displayed:

2 Close the scene without saving and quit Director.3 Do one of the following:

◆ On Windows:From the Start menu, point to Programs > Animo > Configure

◆ On Mac OS X, click the Configure icon in the Dock.4 On the Settings tab, find the line:

Animo: Show full file path on windows?

5 Note that at present, it is set to No. To change this, double-click on the line:

Note: Some settings require you to enter a value or a path, in which case, instead of the value in the Settings column automatically changing when you double-click, a dialog box is displayed to enable you to supply the appropriate information.

Scene filename only

Double click

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Using Configure to change a default setting s

6 The setting changes to Yes, the green circle at the beginning of the line turns to yellow and a red exclamation mark appears next to it. These changes indicate that the setting has been changed since the last time the file was saved and that the setting is now different from the default:


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Changing Animo defaultss

Checking the change to the default settings

After you have edited and saved the Configure settings, check that your changes have been implemented as expected by opening the Beach.scene again in Director. To do this:1 Start Director and open the Beach.scene again.2 The Drawing Window now displays the full path to the scene file, as well as its

name:

You have now finished the lesson on changing Configuration settings.

If you want to revert the change you made in Configure to its original state:1 Start Configure.2 On the Settings tab, right-click the line you changed (its circle will be yellow) and

then click Reset. Tip: To change all the settings back to their original state (that is, if you had made other changes that you wanted to cancel), you could instead click Reset All at the bottom of the Configure window.


Full path andfile name

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Finding out more s

Finding out more

More on changing the defaults in the Animo documentation set

You�ll find more information on the changes you can make in Configure, together with a listing of the options, in the manual Animo Basics, in Using Configure to change how Animo looks and behaves on page 79. Other Configure options are described in the Animo Installation Guide.

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ems

Index

st

Numerics2-way Gradient background 21

Aacknowledgments iiAdd node 63animated writing 32auto-inking 123

Bbackgrounds

color card 31gradient 21

beadsdefining shape and color 39, 50, 56

beads, setting shape and color 22BG Lines option 93bitmaps, adding texture to levels 9

Ccloud effect 46Color Trace Classification window 125color trace lines 119�129colored lights 63

colorsadding to shape 22changing the colors assigned to self trace

toggle buttons 126interacting 66

Configure application 83, 151�156conventions, text xivcopyright notice ii

DDepth node 135disclaimer iidisplaying full path in Animo windows 153documentation xvdrawings, scanning 149

Ffire effect 55flames 57flash of light, creating 54

Gglow effect 58

HHelp menu xvHTML documentation xvC

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Iinstallation xiinstances 4

Llevels

naming 147setting drawing names 147

Lighting node 27lighting nodes 53, 58lightning effect 48

MMacromedia Flash (SWF) ouput option 73macros 81�86mattes

textures 10, 11�16moving, linking one character to another 2multiplane camera 131�143Multiplane Camera node 134Multiplane Camera window 139�142

NNew Traced Level option 90

OOpacity node 67Output node 134

Ppalettes, for texture matte 11, 12patterns, adding to levels 10

Rrainbow effect 19Ratio Panel 6ratioing 1�8Reg Layers window 111Reg Off ink 111regging

cel to background 87cel to cel 101definition 87inking and painting reg drawings 96inking reg lines 111processing reg drawings 95setting up in Director 92tracing a line from a background 90

Register To nodeadding 92saving regging information 93, 106

ripple node 41

Sscanners, calibrating xivscenes

creating 3, 21, 31, 147scanning unscanned levels 149

self-traced lines 123Set Level Name dialog 147Settings tab 153Setup Drawing Names dialog 147shapes, drawing 21Show scan color classification editor button 126

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smokecreating with a Turbulence node 43creating with a Vector node 37

strokesadding to shape 22defining start and end shape 49simple use of 19

SWF files 71

Ttextures 9�18TIFF files for texture 10trademarks iitransparent colors 13Turbulence node

clouds 46smoke effect 43

UUnscanned Drawings dialog 149Unscanned Level node 147

VVector node 21

animated writing 32fire effect 55lightning effect 48

vectorization 71�79

Wworking directory xiiiwriting, animated 32

XXSheet based productions 145�150

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Cambridge Animation ANIMO Advanced Tutorial

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